June 19, 2024
Aree Moon, President of WISET
In March, South Korea became the first Asian country to officially join Horizon Europe as an associate member. Horizon Europe is the European Union’s flagship research and innovation program, running from 2021 to 2027 with a budget of approximately €95.5 billion (about 140 trillion KRW), making it the world’s largest multilateral cooperation initiative. This accession is a highly significant achievement, marking an important turning point that will broaden international collaboration in research and development (R&D) and science and technology, while strengthening Korea’s innovation capacity.
First, Korea’s research and development capacity will expand considerably. While Korea invests a higher proportion of its GDP in R&D than any other country, the absolute scale of investment remains relatively modest compared to advanced economies. With this accession, Korea will be able, starting next year, to apply as a lead institution on research projects under the same conditions as member states. Previously, Korean researchers could only participate as partners in projects led by EU institutions. Now, being able to directly lead and secure projects will provide a strong boost to R&D funding opportunities.
Second, this will significantly contribute to strengthening R&D capacity and advancing industry. Researchers will gain more opportunities to acquire new knowledge and technologies through exchanges with Europe’s leading research institutions. Cooperation in developing solutions to global challenges—such as climate, energy, mobility, and digital technologies—will also intensify. From the perspective of industry, improved access to European markets will serve as a springboard for enhancing Korea’s industrial competitiveness.
Third, this move will encourage efforts to build a more inclusive research and academic ecosystem. Horizon Europe places a strong emphasis on eliminating gender and socio-economic inequalities across research and innovation systems. To receive Horizon Europe funding, public institutions, research organizations, and higher education institutions in member and associate states must establish a Gender Equality Plan (GEP). Gender balance among participating researchers is strongly encouraged, and when projects receive identical evaluation scores, the level of gender equality and mainstreaming efforts is used as a priority selection criterion.
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(Hankyoreh: https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/028/0002693627?sid=102)