Researchers within the top 1% of government-funded research institutes, as evaluated by institutional investors, are expected to receive performance bonuses of up to 0.1 billion won per person in December this year.
According to the science and technology community on the 3rd, the Ministry of Science and ICT and NST (National Research Council of Science and Technology) will award performance bonuses to outstanding researchers at government-funded research institutes. This is a form of special reward. For the first time, the government will provide performance-based bonus payments to individual researchers at these institutes based on their achievements.
Eligible recipients are researchers affiliated with government-funded research institutes that received an 'A' (Outstanding) rating in institutional investor evaluations among the 23rd institutes under NST. Among them, the top 1% of research and technical staff recognized for contributing to each institute's representative research achievements. The process involves each institute recommending candidates to NST after considering both the quality of their research outcomes and individual contributions.
The scale of performance bonuses varies by institutional investor. This is because the maximum payable amount depends on the results of the institutional investor evaluation for each government-funded research institute. Researchers at institutes rated as 'SS' (Super Outstanding) in the evaluation will receive 60 million won per person. For those rated 'S' or 'A', the amounts are 50 million won and 40 million won, respectively.
However, if an institutional investor uses its own funds to provide additional payments through a "one-to-one matching" system on top of government disbursements, the total amount could increase further. NST plans to recommend that each institute provide additional performance bonuses up to 100% of the government payment amount. For example, while the guaranteed bonus for outstanding researchers at an SS-rated institutional investor is 60 million won, if matched with the institution's own funds, they could receive up to 120 million won in total.
However, since no government-funded research institute received an 'SS' rating in this year's institutional investor evaluation, the maximum amount per person is expected to be capped at 1 million won. According to the 2026 institutional investor evaluation results, two institutes received an 'S' rating (△Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology △World Kimchi Research Institute), while 13 institutes received an 'A' rating (△Korea Biotechnology Research Institute △Korea Institute of Industrial Technology △Korea Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute △Korea Construction Technology Research Institute △Korea Railroad Research Institute △Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science △Korea Geological and Environmental Research Institute △Korea Machinery Research Institute △Korea Electrical Research Institute △Korea Chemical Research Institute △Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute △Korea Materials Research Institute △National Institute of Toxicological Science).
Separately from the performance bonus for outstanding researchers, a performance bonus system covering all employees at government-funded research institutes is expected to be introduced next year. The target group includes all staff at institutes that received an 'A' rating or higher in institutional investor evaluations. For institutes rated 'S', each employee is expected to receive 2 million won per person; for those rated 'A', the amount is projected to be 0.1 billion won per person. A budget of 16.7 billion won for such performance bonuses has been reflected in the Ministry of Science and ICT's budget proposal for next year.
However, discussions on improving basic salaries—the core issue in enhancing working conditions at government-funded research institutes—appear to have stalled. It is reported that next year's basic salary increases for these institutes will be similar to the 3.9% raise for public officials. Amid continued large-scale departures of top talent from these institutes, there are mixed expectations on-site that a comprehensive financial restructuring may occur alongside the abolition of PBS (Project-Based System).
A Ministry of Science and ICT official stated, "We are seriously considering various methods to boost the motivation and pride of researchers at government-funded research institutes, not just through monetary compensation such as performance bonuses," adding, "We will prepare practical measures."
in TECH
