The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 28th that it will focus its investments from the science and technology innovation fund being established this year on five areas: semiconductors and displays, artificial intelligence, advanced bio, advanced mobility, and quantum.
The science and technology innovation fund is a specialized fund in the science and technology sector, created by matching investments from a dedicated bank managing government research and development (R&D) funds with private investments, aiming to reach about 1 trillion won by 2028. This year, it plans to create a fund of 250 billion won.
The Ministry of Science and ICT held an operations committee meeting on the 25th and confirmed the main investment directions for the science and technology innovation fund in 2025. First, in the leading technology sectors of semiconductors and displays, one management company will be selected to promote the establishment of a fund totaling 100 billion won based on an investment of 35 billion won. The selected management company will be required to invest over 40% in medium and small corporations in that sector, and over 60% in the 12 national strategic technology sectors.
In the competitive sectors of artificial intelligence, advanced mobility, and advanced bio, one management company will be selected for each, aiming to create funds totaling 40 billion to 42 billion won based on investments of 20 billion to 21 billion won. In the future challenge sector of quantum, three management companies will be selected to promote the establishment of a fund totaling 33.9 billion won based on an investment of 20.3 billion won. In particular, a dedicated fund of 5.5 billion won for accelerators and technology holdings will be established to discover promising early-stage startups in the quantum sector.
The selection of management companies for the science and technology innovation fund will be announced on May 12 and completed by the end of June.
Lee Sang-yun, director of the performance evaluation policy department, noted, "The science and technology innovation fund will strengthen the competitiveness of national strategic technology sectors and support the commercialization of results from national research and development projects to lead to actual industrial growth," and added, "We will continue to make active investments and support to ensure our technology is recognized in the global market."