Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union Ryu Jeonghyun (left) and Signe Ratso, deputy director-general of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, on July 17 pose for a photo in Brussels after signing and exchanging protocols on Korea's entry into Horizon Europe as an associate member state. (Yonhap News)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

Korea is the first Asian country to gain full associate membership in Horizon Europe, a multilateral research program.

This means Korean researchers can enter research contests like their counterparts in the European Union (EU) and receive direct funding from the program without domestic evaluation if the EU picks their projects.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on July 17 said they held a signing ceremony with the EU at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. The event marked the conclusion of a bilateral agreement on Korea's participation in EU programs and a protocol on the nation's entry into Horizon Europe's 2021-27 research and innovation framework program as an associate member.

Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union Ryu Jeonghyun and Signe Ratso, deputy director-general of the EC's Directorate General for Research and Innovation, attended the event as the representatives of both sides.

As the world's largest multilateral research program, Horizon Europe will spend EUR 99.5 billion (KRW 150 trillion) over its seven-year period that started in 2021.

The group has within its ranks all 27 EU member states and 19 associate members like the U.K., Norway, Iceland and Canada. Korea is the 20th associate member and first from Asia.

To stimulate domestic researcher participation in Horizon Europe, the government will offer measures such as supporting pre-planning projects, hosting Horizon Europe briefings, launching a multilateral cooperation team for the program at the National Research Foundation of Korea, and holding discussions among Korean and European researchers.

aisylu@korea.kr