South Korea Drops 'Hwang Woo-suk' Stigma: Government to Back 1,100 National Scientists with Up to 500 Million Won
Creatrip Team
20 days ago
The Ministry of Science and ICT has unveiled a new "National Scientists" program to identify and support 1,100 top and next-generation researchers over five years. The plan will select 100 leader-level researchers (20 per year) and 1,000 next-generation researchers (200 per year from 2027) from universities, public research institutes, and industry. Leader-level scientists (under 55) will receive 100 million won per year for up to five years (total up to 500 million won) and gain a presidential certificate, advisory roles, and benefits like immigration fast-track. Next-generation researchers (early-career academics or industry researchers within specified career windows) will get 50 million won per year for up to five years (total up to 250 million won) and priority access to major national research facilities.
To avoid past controversies—most notably the scandal around former national scientist Hwang Woo-suk (a disgraced stem cell researcher)—the program removes direct individual applications and instead requires institutional or peer nominations. Independent, mostly private expert panels will conduct multi-stage reviews across 16 science and technology categories, with ethics, conflicts of interest, and prior misconduct checks before final designation. The government plans the first leader-level call in September, reviews from October, and the announcement of the first 20 leader-level designees in December.
