South Korea's research and development (R&D) spending will reach 5 percent of the gross domestic product in 2012 with an emphasis on building up the country's basic science capabilities, the government said Thursday.
The figure is a noticeable increase from the 3.49 percent of the GDP spent on R&D last year, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said.
This year, Seoul plans to spend 10.8 trillion won ($10.6 billion) on science and technology development, with the total expected to reach 16.2 trillion in 2012.
The ministry also said in a policy report to President Lee Myung-bak in Daejeon, located 160 kilometers south of Seoul, that half of the total R&D spending earmarked for 2012 is to be spent on basic science research. This year, only 25 percent of the total will go into basic research.
South Korea is good at adaptation and practical application of technologies but lags in basic research fields compared to countries like the United States and Japan. This handicap has caused the country to rely on borrowed technology, which some
claim has prevented the country from emerging as a technological leader.
The ministry added funds are to be spent on building up research-oriented universities and offering greater incentives to laboratories that produce promising results. A total of 620 billion won ($610 million) is to be spent until 2012 so South
Korean research universities can be built to complete with world leaders.
The ministry also said it plans to pay closer attention to linking R&D with training of experts and initiate moves that will give the civilian sector greater responsibility in the distribution of research funds.
In addition, policymakers said the government will cover 70 percent of the personnel expenses for employees of state-run laboratories, an increase from the current 38 percent, and set aside 200 billion won by 2013 to give pensions to people working in the science and technology field. (Yonhap)