Ministry to Fully Introduce ‘Moving Target’ System, Marking Major Shift to Evaluating High-Risk Research

The Ministry of Science and ICT will overhaul its project evaluation system to promote high-risk research and fully introduce a “moving target” system next year, allowing researchers to adjust their research goals flexibly.

The ministry said Aug. 31 that it had established the “2026 Plan for Improving the National Research and Development Administrative System” and notified relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment.

The plan was developed based on 349 opinions from the research community collected through online channels and in-person meetings. It was reviewed and approved Aug. 26 at the eighth deliberative meeting of the National Science and Technology Advisory Council.

The project evaluation system will shift to identifying outstanding projects and providing incentives. In addition to projects with significant academic, technological or industrial impact, projects that fell short of their innovative goals but generated valuable data and knowledge through trial and error will be designated “outstanding challenge projects.” They will be eligible for benefits such as links to follow-up research and government awards.

By contrast, projects with inadequate performance, including violations of laws and regulations, failure to meet agreement obligations or research misconduct, will be classified as “inappropriate projects” and face strong sanctions, including recovery of research funds and restrictions on participation.

The government previously abolished project evaluation based on outcome-focused grading and scoring systems in July 2026. As a follow-up measure, it plans to establish a new evaluation system by October.

The “moving target” system, designed to address the rapidly changing global technology environment, will allow researchers to adjust their goals flexibly as research progresses. The process for changing research goals will be substantially shortened, and an interministerial, negative-list-style guideline on whether changes require approval will improve predictability.

Researchers will also have greater flexibility in spending research funds. The deadline for completing the acquisition of research facilities and equipment will be relaxed from “2 months before the end of a project phase” to “a specified period before the end of the entire project.” If procedures are delayed between the end of one phase and the start of the next, the remaining direct costs may be carried over automatically.

To prevent research allowances from being concentrated excessively among particular researchers, the ministry will add an individual cap of “within 100% of the researcher’s personnel costs charged to the project,” alongside the existing total cap (20% of personnel costs) and allocation cap (70% per person).

To improve research administration efficiency, the ministry will develop and distribute an interministerial standard settlement guide and a collection of examples of allowable and disallowed research expenses. It will also allow annual reports to be consolidated into the following year’s report when the agreement period for the first or final year is less than 6 months.

Management of international collaborative research will also become more systematic. The ministry plans to strengthen oversight and review of the use of research funds transferred to overseas institutions and expand support throughout the research and development process to protect the rights to research outcomes, including intellectual property (IP), held by domestic research institutions when they enter into agreements with overseas institutions.

The ministry plans to begin revising relevant laws and regulations, including the Enforcement Decree of the National Research and Development Innovation Act, in September, with the improved system set to take full effect in 2027.

Park In-gyu, head of the Office of Science, Technology and Innovation, said, “To maximize South Korea’s R&D competitiveness, it is essential to create an autonomous research environment where researchers can focus on bold, high-risk research. We will decisively eliminate unnecessary practices and build a practical support system that researchers can feel immediately in the field.”