Science ministry picks 4 joint projects with global research institutes for gov't support

Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho, right, speaks during a meeting at the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy in Daejeon, in this picture provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT, July 22. Yonhap

Korea's science ministry said Monday it has selected four joint science research projects with global top-tier research institutes to support for up to 10 years.

The projects include cooperation between Seoul's Institute for Basic Science and Tokyo's National Research and Development Agency on researching technologies for creating rare isotopes through RAON, a heavy-ion accelerator developed by Korea, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The ministry will also support joint research on hydrogen technologies by Seoul National University and Stanford University in the U.S., as well as a project on creating an advanced lab to test autonomous driving technologies by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology plans to join hands with Belgium's Rega Institute for Medical Research to develop vaccine and treatments for viruses with potential to cause a pandemic. (Yonhap)