The budget for research and development (R&D) in the marine and fisheries sector has returned to pre-2024 levels, but the number of research projects has dropped by more than 40% over the past three years.
On October 18, Moon Geum-joo, a member of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, revealed data from the Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion (KIMST) indicating that while the marine and fisheries R&D budget has recovered to levels before cuts, the number of research projects has decreased by 43.2% compared to three years ago.
The number of marine and fisheries R&D projects fell from 331 in 2022 to 322 in 2023, 263 in 2024, and 188 last year.
This decline in research projects accelerated following budget cuts to the national R&D budget by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in 2024. The marine and fisheries R&D budget decreased from 511.1 billion won in 2023 to 378.5 billion won in the following year, a reduction of 25.9%, during which the number of research projects dropped from 322 to 263.
Although the budget has been restored, the number of research projects remains below pre-cut levels. This year's marine and fisheries R&D budget has increased to 518.1 billion won, surpassing the pre-cut amount from 2023. However, as of August, the number of research projects stands at 182, failing to keep pace with the budget increase.
A decrease in research projects not only hampers the development of new technologies but also limits the enhancement of existing research outcomes. Furthermore, a continued decline in research projects could impact the retention of research personnel and capabilities.
Additionally, the workload of research management staff has emerged as another concern. This year, the R&D management budget per employee at KIMST is 5.1 billion won, approximately 2.4 times that of the Agricultural Technology Planning and Evaluation Institute.
In this context, KIMST has also taken on management responsibilities for strategic research and development projects at three affiliated research institutes since June.
Moon Geum-joo stated, "Since the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's cuts to the R&D budget, marine and fisheries research projects have decreased by over 40%. While this year's budget has recovered, the number of research projects still falls short of past levels. Given that R&D requires sustainability and continuity, we must not stop at budget recovery but actively seek to identify new and follow-up projects to restore the weakened research ecosystem with a concrete plan."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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