The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP) held a ‘Public hearing on 2021 government R&D investment directions and standards (plan)’.

Public Hearing for investment directions were held every year with the attention of many researchers, however in this year, in response to the spread of COVID-19, the public hearing was conducted online instead of offline events. The public hearing was filmed around the presenter and panel without the audience, and the video can be seen on the KISTEP YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/KISTEPTV).

This investment direction reflects the national keynote of 'innovation' and 'inclusion', and presented three basic directions: strengthening the research capacity of innovation actors, expanding the basis of economic growth, and improving the quality of life.

In the first part of the public hearing, agenda presentation and panel discussion were conducted on the overall investment direction, and in the second part, detailed investment directions and in-depth discussions followed about 6 technical fields (publicㆍspace, energyㆍenvironment, ICTㆍconvergence, machineryㆍmaterials, lifeㆍmedical, basicsㆍinfrastructure).

The government R&D investment direction for 2021 will be reviewed and reflected on the opinions from the public hearing and the results of consultations with related ministries, and the result will be notified to the related institute by Match 15th after deliberated and voted by Steering Committee under Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology (PACST, Chairman is president Jae-in Moon).