MBC 'Investigative Program Straight' Reveals the Circumstances of R&D Budget Cuts!

In June 2023, after former President Yoon Suk-yeol mentioned the need for a 'zero-based review of sharing and dividing R&D', the 2024 national research and development (R&D) budget cuts were implemented. This was the first cut in 33 years, unprecedented even during the IMF crisis, causing a stir not only in the scientific community but across the entire country. Questions and suspicions arose about how the 'R&D cartel' cited by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration came about, who ordered it, and what processes were involved in the cuts. 'Straight' recently obtained an exclusive report from the Ministry of Science and ICT, which investigated the process of the R&D budget cuts at that time. The report contained the full details of the cut process. 'Straight' also reported on the aftermath of the sudden budget cuts, which left numerous research and development projects stranded, causing young researchers to lose their jobs or leave for overseas, highlighting the ongoing repercussions of the R&D budget cuts.