The Ministry of Science and ICT on June 8 announced its final selection of new projects for its program Brain Pool and Brain Pool+ as part of the initiative Brain to Korea. (iClickArt) Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution of this image is prohibited under copyright law.

By Koh Hyunjeong

The Ministry of Science and ICT has stepped up efforts to bolster the country's global research competitiveness by expanding recruiting of top-tier science and technology personnel from abroad.

The ministry on June 8 announced its selections of new projects for the 2026 Brain Pool (BP) and Brain Pool Plus (BP+) as part of the initiative Brain to Korea. The aim is to attract 2,000 top science and technology minds from overseas by 2030.

This year, 85 individual-led BP projects and five institution-led BP+ ventures were selected. An annual cap of KRW 350 million is offered for each individual project, which invites outstanding researchers to conduct joint research.

Eighty-five researchers from 20 countries will join the BP program in Korea to study national strategic technology sectors such as advanced biotechnology, rechargeable batteries, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and robotics.

Korea University, Sogang University, Sungkyunkwan University, Ewha Womans University, and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology were selected for the institutional program. Each school will get up to KRW 3 billion per year to identify, recruit and use talent based on their own strategies.

The ministry will decisively remove administrative and institutional obstacles to help top science and technology talent to quickly settle in the country and create an optimal ecosystem where they can focus on their research.

hjkoh@korea.kr