MS Tech head calls for more field testing and adoption support for domestic research equipment

Kim Myung-soo, head of MS Tech, called for the second basic plan to include more opportunities to field-test domestically made research equipment and support for its adoption by universities and research institutions. Kim said domestic research-equipment companies have technological capabilities but lack opportunities to validate performance in actual research settings.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the government has drawn up a record research budget proposal of 39.5 trillion won for next year. It includes 5.8 trillion won for three megaprojects covering semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence (AI), and AI data centers, and 3.7 trillion won for seven SEED projects covering areas including small modular reactors (SMRs), quantum technology, and aerospace.

The research industry supplies equipment and materials to companies and research institutions and supports testing and analysis, design, and prototype production. The Ministry of Science and ICT's 2025 research-industry survey counted 21,007 domestic research-industry companies and 28.6 trillion won in sector revenue as of 2024.

Among the research industry's four fields, research-equipment revenue is just over 1 trillion won. The government's basic plan for promoting the research industry puts the domestic share of equipment installed through government R&D at 14.5% in 2021, covering equipment installed over the five-year period ending in the reference year. The government aims to raise that share to 20% this year and 30% by 2031.

Field-validation records help explain the industry's calls for more opportunities to test domestic equipment through national R&D projects. For research equipment, where measurement accuracy and reliability matter, actual usage records influence purchasing decisions, and domestic companies can struggle to enter the market if their equipment lacks a record of use at universities and research institutions, even after development.

Discussion of the next plan coincides with the end of the existing development plan. The first basic plan for promoting the research industry, which began in 2022, ends this year, with the second basic plan due to be formulated next year.