South Korea to boost ICT R&D spending by nearly 3 trillion won in 2027

In a budget-planning workshop held in central Seoul, the Ministry of Science and ICT outlined a proposal to devote nearly 3 trillion won to information and communications technology research and development for the 2027 fiscal year, representing a 23.6 percent increase over 2026. The allocation sits within a total R&D budget of 39.5 trillion won and concentrates on five strategic pillars: the government's three mega projects, next-generation AI technologies, AI transformation, future-technology development and talent cultivation.

For the mega projects, 662.1 billion won will be directed toward physical AI, AI semiconductors and data-center research, with the largest single chunk—384.9 billion won—aimed at building a full-stack AI ecosystem from foundational models to accelerators. Sovereign AI initiatives will receive 431.1 billion won, including 169.1 billion won for cybersecurity research. The future-technology segment earmarks 338.9 billion won for quantum computing and next-generation networking to create an “AI expressway.” Finally, 354.4 billion won will support talent development and the expansion of joint research hubs with international scholars.