Overview

• The government proposed a 35.3 trillion won R&D budget for 2026, a 19.3 percent increase, with the plan to be submitted to the National Assembly.
• AI receives the largest proportional boost, more than doubling to 2.3 trillion won, alongside allocations of 2.6 trillion won for renewable energy, 8.5 trillion won for cutting‑edge industries, 3.9 trillion won for defense and 3.4 trillion won for basic science.
• The five‑year blueprint launches 30 AI and innovation projects, including goals to fully commercialize autonomous vehicles by 2027 and complete unmanned autonomous ships by 2030.
• A National Growth Fund of over 100 trillion won will back strategic sectors with financing alongside tax and regulatory measures, as officials cut the 2025 growth forecast to 0.9 percent and pursue top‑three AI status.
• Ecosystem restoration begins with plans to phase out the Project‑Based System and to support a national AI training data cluster plus five domestic teams building Korean‑language foundation models.