A total of 2,496 projects were selected in the evaluation results for the 2026 Second Round of New Individual Basic Research Projects.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it has selected 2,496 projects in the fields of △Basic Research, △Challenging Research, and △Strategic Research under the "2026 Individual Basic Research Program Second Round New Projects." The total funding amount is 152 billion won.
According to the evaluation results, 2,366 projects were selected in the Basic Research field. Basic Research is a program that supports small-scale long-term research for full-time faculty members in science and engineering fields and researchers affiliated with private research institutes. It is divided into "Basic Research B," which provides up to 70 million won annually for up to five years, and "Basic Research A," which provides up to 50 million won annually. Among the selected projects, 1,460 were in Basic Research B and 906 were in Basic Research A.
Fifty projects were selected for the "Challenging Projects," which provide up to 100 million won annually for one to three years for full-time and non-full-time faculty members in science and engineering fields, and 80 projects were selected for the "Strategic Projects," which provide up to 200 million won annually for one to three years for faculty members in science and engineering fields and researchers at national and government-funded research institutes.
The average funding amount per project increased by approximately 10% (55.86 million won) compared to 2023. The support period was extended from a maximum of three years to a maximum of five years.
Kim Sung-soo, Director of the Research and Development Policy Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, "We will expand entry and growth opportunities for early-career researchers to broaden diversity and strengthen the challenging nature and innovativeness of basic research."
in TECH
