Korea joins EU's 'Horizon Europe' as first Asian member

Logo for Horizon Europe, the European Union's largest multilateral research and innovation funding program. [HORIZON EUROPE]

Korea is the first Asian country to join Horizon Europe, the European Union’s largest multilateral research and innovation funding program, Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT said Monday.

With a budget of €95.5 billion ($103.2 billion) to be spent between 2021 and 2027, the program compiles all research and development (R&D) projects under operation within its member states into a single structure to avoid overlapping investments.

Prior programs only allowed EU member states to join. Horizon Europe, by contrast, has offered an "associate membership" to six non-EU countries that fulfill certain criteria in science, technology, innovation and commitment to open market economy, including fair and equitable dealings with intellectual property rights.

Korea, after completing the necessary procedures, will become an associate member of the program in 2025. It will be the third associate member following New Zealand's induction in 2023 and Canada's in 2024.

The program is divided into multiple pillars that focus on different types of R&D. Korea joins the Pillar II of Horizon Europe, which focuses on "Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness" through collaborative research and innovation.

Korean researchers will be directly funded through Horizon Europe as part of the program.

“Participating as an associated country in Horizon Europe, the world’s largest multilateral research and innovation program, will open up greater opportunities for both Korea and the EU to enhance research competitiveness through joint research,” Science and ICT Minister Lee Jong-ho said in a statement. “We are committed to completing the process leading up to the signing of the association agreement by the end of this year so that Korean researchers can start participating in Horizon Europe with an associated country status starting from 2025.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]