The 2025 K-Science & Technology Global Forum was held on Tuesday, December 9 at Conrad Seoul in Yeouido. Co-hosted by South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), and organized by the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP), the event focused on how Korea can use science diplomacy and strategic international partnerships to strengthen its position in advanced technologies. The forum brought together about 90 diplomats from roughly 50 countries, along with lawmakers, government officials, heads of major institutions, researchers from Korea and abroad, and MSIT science attachés posted overseas. Designed as an open forum for dialogue, the event highlighted South Korea’s achievements in international science and technology cooperation while exploring future strategies and policy directions for global partnerships. The program included a keynote address and four sessions covering science and technology diplomacy and international cooperation, Korea-led multilateral initiatives, research security, and updates on international cooperation projects. The discussions broadly addressed the future of science and technology and measures to deepen international collaboration.

Kyunghoon Bae, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT

 

Kyunghoon Bae, South Korea’s science and ICT minister, said in his opening remarks that the government will expand investment in future critical technologies such as AI, quantum, biotechnology and space through next year’s 35.5 trillion-won R&D budget, while highlighting the importance of international cooperation in science and technology. He noted that Korea’s AI and digital capabilities are receiving strong recognition from the international community and that cooperation in AI, space and defense is also advancing. He emphasized that stronger multilateral cooperation, tighter research security and closer inter-ministerial coordination will be key to Korea’s emergence as a global science and technology hub.

Kim Jina, 2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs

 

In her welcoming remarks, Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Jina said science and technology now sit at the heart of foreign policy. She described AI and other advanced technologies as strategic assets that are increasingly shaping the international order and global rules. She also pointed to Korea’s growing technology diplomacy through bilateral and multilateral channels, including AI-related announcements made at the G7 and APEC, the Korea-U.S. Technology Prosperity MOU, the resumption of the Korea-Japan Cooperation Committee, and AI and space cooperation with the United Arab Emirates. She said the forum would help Korea take the lead in shaping new technology norms and future cooperation, adding that the Foreign Ministry would work with MSIT to strengthen its science and technology diplomacy network.

Rep. Hyung‑du Choi of the People Power Party

 

Rep. Hyung‑du Choi of the People Power Party said in congratulatory remarks that Korea is emerging as a Global Pivotal State (GPS) on the strength of its advanced technological capabilities, including in semiconductors, and that global demand for science and technology cooperation with Korea is rising sharply. He also praised MSIT and MOFA for expanding international cooperation, saying the National Assembly would actively support scientific and technological development and stronger global partnerships.

Rep. Soo-jin Choi of the People Power Party

 

Rep. Soo-jin Choi of the People Power Party said South Korea is making rapid strides in frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and biotechnology, emphasizing that science and technology are becoming a central pillar of both national competitiveness and diplomacy. She said future advances in science and technology will hinge on cultivating talent and building an environment where researchers are respected and valued. She also expressed her commitment to strengthening the legal and institutional framework so researchers can pursue bold, high-risk projects without being penalized for failure.

 

Rep. Jeong-heon Lee of the Democratic Party of Korea

 

In a video message, Rep. Lee Jeong-heon of the Democratic Party of Korea said Korea needs both a stronger strategy for international science and technology cooperation and a more robust research security framework as competition in strategic technologies intensifies. Amid supply-chain realignment and the emergence of rival technology blocs, he called for a comprehensive national strategy to secure technological sovereignty. Lee also urged MSIT and MOFA to work beyond ministerial boundaries to help position Korea as a global platform for science and technology cooperation, while pledging active support for the government through legislation and budget measures.

 

Taekjip Ha, Professor at Harvard Medical School

 

In his keynote address, Taekjip Ha, a professor at Harvard Medical School, said that understanding the complexity of living systems and the principles underlying genome function is one of the central scientific challenges of the 21st century. Ha placed particular emphasis on talent development, stressing that nurturing researchers is even more important than technological development or scientific discovery. He said international collaborative research, early overseas research experience, researcher mobility programs, and investment in infrastructure are essential to strengthening the global competitiveness of young researchers. He also shared successful examples of collaboration between Korean and overseas research institutions and reiterated the importance of expanding international research networks.

 

Hwang Sung-hoon, Director General for International Cooperation Bureau, MSIT

 

Hwang Sung-hoon, Director General for International Cooperation Bureau at MSIT, said international cooperation in science and technology is being reshaped by intensifying global technology competition and geopolitical tensions, and stressed that Korea must move beyond value-neutral cooperation toward a more strategic framework centered on technological sovereignty and national interests. He said the government will expand international collaborative research and partnerships with global companies in AI, quantum technology, biotechnology and nuclear fusion, while pushing for participation in Horizon Europe and new multilateral programs. These efforts, he said, will help build an international cooperation environment that balances openness with protection and boost Korea’s technological competitiveness.

Han Minyoung, Director-General for Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Scientific Affairs, MOFA

 

Han Min-young, Director-General for Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Scientific Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, said science and technology diplomacy is taking on greater importance as advanced technologies emerge as key strategic assets reshaping the international order and the diplomatic and security landscape. She said the actors in technology diplomacy are expanding beyond governments to include private-sector and corporate players, while the dual-use nature of technology and geopolitical complexity are making international cooperation increasingly difficult. Han said Korea is pursuing its science and technology diplomacy strategy along three tracks: contributing to global technology norms and governance, building an open technology ecosystem based on trust, and presenting a vision for humanity’s future. She added that responding to the rapidly changing technological environment will require stronger information-gathering through Korea’s overseas missions and deeper strategic cooperation, and said the Foreign Ministry will unwaveringly pursue strategic science and technology diplomacy centered on the national interest.

 

Bon-Kyoung Koo, Director of IBS’s Center for Genome Engineering, called for building a large-scale joint research program led by the Asia-Pacific region, saying stronger institutional support for long-term, ambitious research and broader cross-border cooperation are essential. He said major Asia-Pacific countries can achieve research outcomes on par with those of the European Union if they pool their strengths, and urged active government support and the establishment of a sustainable framework for international cooperation.

 

Moderated by Professor Go Giseong of Chung-Ang University, the panel discussion brought together experts in multilateral science and technology cooperation, including Andreas J. Heinrich, director of the IBS Center for Quantum Nanoscience, and Misao Sasaki, president of the Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics. The panel discussed the need for a joint research platform in the Asia-Pacific region, directions for designing multilateral cooperation programs, and ways to build international evaluation and decision-making frameworks.

 

The forum also featured discussions on research security aimed at protecting the global research ecosystem. Inkyoung Sun, a research fellow at the Science and Technology Policy Institute, stressed that research security is emerging as a key issue in international cooperation amid intensifying global technology competition and rising geopolitical tensions. While the values of openness and collaboration remain important, she said it is essential to establish a risk-management framework to protect national and economic security and safeguard the research ecosystem. She added that despite Korea’s strong R&D investment, the country faces structural limitations in participating in international cooperation, emphasizing that a balanced research security framework that ensures both openness and security is needed.

 

Carthage Smith, a senior policy analyst at the OECD Global Science Forum (GSF), said changes in the global geopolitical environment have made research security a major international policy issue, driving the rapid spread of research security policies across countries. He stressed the need for balanced risk-management frameworks that take national and economic security into account while preserving international cooperation and academic freedom, and said the OECD is continuing to work with member countries to develop research security guidelines, assessment frameworks and policy frameworks.

 

Yoshida Kazuhisa, Director of the International Group at Japan’s Cabinet Office, said Japan is gradually expanding its research security policy, with a focus on strengthening research integrity and introducing a risk management framework. He said that, through research security guidelines set to take effect in 2026, Japan plans to formalize measures to prevent technology leakage in publicly funded competitive research, along with procedures for risk assessment, risk mitigation and conflict-of-interest prevention.

 

Kim Guk-tae, a senior researcher at KAIST, said research security is shifting from a protection-focused model to a risk-prevention approach, stressing that universities also need systematic risk-management capabilities in dealing with global partners. He said new threats are on the rise, including overseas recruitment efforts, inappropriate research contracts and the growing risk of technology leakage, and emphasized the need for proactive measures by universities and stronger national-level cooperation on research security.

 

Taeseok OH, President of KISTEP

 

In a follow-up panel discussion moderated by Taeseok OH, president of KISTEP, participants discussed how to balance research security with international cooperation. OH said the cases shared by several countries reaffirmed that research security is a core issue closely tied to both national and economic security. He added that KISTEP would take an active role in research security discussions as an institution involved across the research ecosystem, from national science and technology strategy and planning to R&D budget reviews and the analysis of national R&D statistics. Citing the OECD, he said countries should pursue research security policies that balance safety, openness and innovation, and that KISTEP would contribute to building such a framework through international cooperation.

 

The forum also highlighted the current state of science and technology cooperation and its key achievements. Principal investigators from major international projects attended, sharing progress so far and future plans. These included the TOP-TIER International Cooperation Platform, the Korea-Vietnam Joint Research Program, the Global AI Frontier Lab, quantum cybersecurity initiatives, and joint AI and biotechnology research.

 

Group photo