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Busan Metropolitan City to Host the "2026 Busan R&D Investment Direction Forum"

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) and the Busan Institute for Scientific and Technical Higher Education Promotion (President Kim Young-boo, hereinafter referred to as the Institute) announced that they will host the “2026 Busan R&D Investment Direction Forum” at 2 p.m. tomorrow (July 2) in the City Hall Grand Conference Room.

Busan is the only local government in the nation that has annually established its “Busan R&D Investment Direction” since 2017, using it as a guideline for R&D budget allocation.

The central government has pledged to secure stable R&D budgets as a key policy priority and to build an innovation-driven growth system that expands the achievements of R&D across all industries. In doing so, it seeks to ensure the sustainability of national R&D efforts and strengthen local R&D autonomy to enhance scientific and technological capabilities.

Accordingly, Busan forecasts that national R&D projects will be managed stably in 2026 and that local R&D conditions will improve.

This forum was organized to collect opinions from experts in various sectors on the draft of the “2026 Busan R&D Investment Direction,” which was developed based on the recent national policy changes and Busan’s “Mid-to-Long-Term R&D Investment Strategy.”

The forum will proceed with a presentation on the draft, followed by a panel discussion with experts from academia, industry, and research institutions, as well as a Q&A session. Discussions will also cover the improvement of R&D-related laws and systems, advancement of evaluation mechanisms, and strategies for linking key policies.

The draft of the “2026 Busan R&D Investment Direction” to be presented includes 10 key directions across 3 major fields under the goal of “Marking the First Year of Transforming the Regional Industrial Ecosystem Through Expanded Investment in Inevitable Technologies and the Strategic Industry Plus Strategy.”

First, in the field of “investment in inevitable technologies to induce emergent innovation in regional industries,” the following three directions are set:
▲ Securing sustainable industrial competitiveness through AI-driven technological transformation
▲ Promoting disruptive innovation using next-generation quantum technologies
▲ Intensively fostering regional specialized medical and bio-innovation technologies

Second, for “transformative technological innovation in strategic industries through the plus strategy,” the draft presents five directions:
▲ Enhancing dominance in future industries through digital-based innovation
▲ Driving comprehensive innovation in energy technologies in response to the climate crisis
▲ Establishing next-generation manufacturing paradigms through high-end manufacturing technologies
▲ Transitioning to high-value-added marine industries based on digital and eco-friendly technologies
▲ Improving everyday value and citizen satisfaction through the development of practical technologies

Finally, under the goal of “strengthening mid-to-long-term competitiveness for gradual innovation-led growth based on science and technology,” two directions are set:
▲ Establishing a virtuous cycle system for nurturing global talent driven by future technologies
▲ Building a multi-dimensional technology startup support system encompassing ecosystems, investment, and space

Additionally, the draft identifies five core technologies necessary for advancing Busan’s scientific and industrial innovation and includes strategic investment directions for each field.

The five technology areas are:
▲ Digital
▲ Life and Medical Sciences
▲ Materials, Nano, Machinery, and Manufacturing
▲ Maritime, Logistics, Fisheries, and Food
▲ Energy, Environment, and Disaster

Meanwhile, the city plans to incorporate the opinions gathered during the forum into the final version of the “2026 Busan R&D Investment Direction” through discussions with relevant departments. The finalized document will then serve as a foundation for the allocation and adjustment of the 2026 R&D budget.

Jung Na-young, Director General of Future Technology Strategy Bureau of the City, stated, “The R&D investment direction will serve as a key milestone to enhance the city’s industrial competitiveness and to discover future growth drivers.” She added, “Through this forum, we will collect insights from experts in various sectors on the draft of the 2026 R&D Investment Direction and ensure that academia, industry, and research institutions—the core pillars of regional R&D—work together to drive industrial competitiveness and improve the quality of life for our citizens through research and development.”