The Ministry of Science and ICT has begun full-scale project planning to support its 2027 ICT research and development (R&D) budget, the largest ever allocated. On September 15, the ministry held the 2027 ICT R&D New Project Planning Committee General Workshop at Royal Park Convention in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, sharing the key directions for next year’s planning.
 [코리안투데이] The 2027 ICT R&D New Project Planning Committee General Workshop © 장형임 기자 |
The Ministry of Science and ICT (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon) announced that it held the 2027 ICT R&D New Project Planning Committee General Workshop on September 15 at Royal Park Convention in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Bringing together planning committee members from industry, academia and research institutes, along with the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP), the specialized ICT R&D agency, and private-sector experts (PMs), the workshop was arranged for the first time this year with the aim of coordinating next year’s planning direction in advance to strengthen the substance of project planning.
The 2027 ICT R&D government budget proposal was set at 2.0755 trillion won, an increase of 396.9 billion won (23.6 percent) over this year, ushering in the so-called 2-trillion-won era. It is the largest amount on record. As the budget has grown substantially, so too has the importance of project planning aimed at proactively identifying core technologies needed at the national level and generating tangible results. The ministry explained that it would systematically reflect the accumulation, linkage and potential utilization of results from the planning stage, so that R&D outcomes do not remain confined to individual projects but lead to follow-up research, demonstration and commercialization, ultimately connecting to technology-driven growth that citizens can feel.
The 2027 ICT R&D program will concentrate investment in five areas. First, a total of 662.1 billion won has been allocated to the three mega projects: Physical AI, AI semiconductors and AI data centers. In the Physical AI field, 384.9 billion won will be invested to secure a full stack of core technologies, including world models, general-purpose foundation models and AI accelerators, and to support key industries such as automobiles, construction and manufacturing. In the AI semiconductor field, 161.7 billion won will be spent to develop low-power, high-performance source technologies and integrated hardware and software specialized for on-device and data-center use in response to surging AI inference demand. In the AI data center field, 115.5 billion won will be newly invested to develop core technologies such as servers, memory, storage and networks, and to build a foundation for demonstration and commercialization.
Second, a total of 431.1 billion won has been allocated to securing next-generation AI source technologies and safety and reliability technologies. Of this, 262.0 billion won will go to developing next-generation AI core technologies for human-level cognition, judgment and reasoning, as well as high-quality data and time-series foundation models, while 169.1 billion won will be invested in securing technologies to counter new security threats such as MITHOS.
Third, 334.5 billion won has been allocated to spreading and accelerating regional AX (AI transformation) centered on four regions. By linking AI with key regional industries such as automobiles, manufacturing, energy, bio and logistics in the four regions of Jeonbuk, Gyeongnam, Gwangju and Daegu, the ministry will pursue technology development and demonstration, fostering a virtuous ecosystem that leads to improved productivity for local firms and the creation of new industries.
Fourth, a total of 338.9 billion won has been allocated to the quantum and next-generation communications fields to secure future frontier technologies and build an AI expressway; of this, 107.3 billion won will be invested in the quantum field to advance future technologies such as quantum communications and sensing. Fifth, 354.4 billion won has been allocated to cultivating core AI and ICT talent and securing global leadership, nurturing master’s and doctoral-level talent and top research personnel through AI and AX graduate schools, and expanding joint research with outstanding overseas researchers and institutions as well as the establishment of global research hubs.
Based on this government proposal, the ministry plans to run the project planning committees in earnest from September, together with nine IITP PMs, 25 subcommittees by technology field and some 350 planning committee members, to draw up candidate projects. After public hearings, it will finalize the 2027 new projects by the end of the year.
At the workshop, a plan to introduce an AI agent specialized for research administration was also shared. Noting that complex research-administration paperwork and procedures have hindered researchers’ focus on their work, the ministry and IITP will build, for the first time, an AI agent specialized in streamlining these tasks. IITP, the specialized ICT R&D agency, will first serve as the application and verification environment (test bed), establishing a leading model for research-administration AX.
The research-administration AI agent has four characteristics: it is ▲R&D-specialized ▲HWP-specialized ▲security-specialized and ▲designed for field-wide deployment. Across the entire R&D cycle, it surveys domestic and international policy and technology trends and reviews planning content; at the evaluation stage, it analyzes documents submitted by applicant institutions; and even in research-fund settlement, it supports work from an expert perspective akin to that of an accountant. In particular, by adopting an HWP agent tailored to the domestic administrative environment, it analyzes document structure and formatting and supports the creation, revision and review of documents that conform to the required formats. In addition, it will be built as an on-premises, security-oriented system so that sensitive information on research projects and researchers is not leaked externally, allowing the functions to be used without transmitting data to external commercial AI services. The agent verified at IITP this year will be deployed in earnest to research-performing institutions from 2027, supporting repetitive tasks such as drafting R&D plans, reviewing project application documents, and processing changes to research plans and participating researchers.
This initiative is also meaningful in that it applies the agentic AI technology of a domestic young startup—one that accumulated its technical capabilities with support from the ministry and IITP—to actual R&D management work. It is expected to contribute to fostering an AI growth ecosystem in which government R&D outcomes are again utilized and verified for R&D innovation and then spread to the market.
Lee Do-kyu, Director-General of the Information and Communications Policy Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, ‘As the 2027 ICT R&D government budget proposal enters the 2-trillion-won era, we will thoroughly build up substance from the planning stage so that funds are invested precisely where they are needed—including in the three mega projects and other core national strategic technologies—and lead to tangible results that support the government’s key policy tasks.’ He added, ‘In particular, by proactively introducing agentic AI technology developed through government R&D into research administration at public institutions, we will ease the difficulties in the field where researchers could not fully concentrate on their work due to complex paperwork and administrative burdens, and by actively using AI in research administration, we will also enhance the efficiency of R&D planning and management.’
Inquiries can be directed to the Information, Communications and Broadcasting Technology Policy Division of the Ministry of Science and ICT (044-202-6230).
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