Industry leaders urge South Korea’s new government to prioritize AI and R&D support

Industry leaders identified support for artificial intelligence (AI) transformation (AX) and the expansion of research and development (R&D) budgets as urgent tasks that the new government must pursue.

The Korea Industrial Technology Association published the results of a survey titled 'Asking 100 opinion leaders in the industry about new government policy pledges' on the 16th. This survey targeted 100 leaders from the association’s C-level and above from the 4th to the 10th.

One hundred industry leaders ranked support for AI transformation as the top priority among tasks that the new government needs to urgently pursue. Twenty-five percent identified AI transformation as the priority, followed by the expansion of R&D budgets and the establishment of an innovation growth system at 22%.

In second place, the expansion of R&D budgets accounted for 23%, while AX transformation support garnered 19%. It can be confirmed that both AX transformation support and the expansion of R&D budgets are common concerns in the industry.

In terms of R&D tax systems, the introduction of incentives for increased corporate R&D investment showed the highest response rate at 29%. This was followed by R&D tax credit refund and transaction systems at 25.5%, and the reintroduction of tax credits for technology acquisition costs at 18%.

In terms of policy, the need for a consultative body for R&D system improvement was the most common response at 19%, along with opinions on the need for the unification of national strategic technology definitions and the introduction of variable matching funds.

Industry leaders called for sustained and consistent policy implementation. Ko Seogon, Vice Chairman of the Korea Industrial Technology Association, emphasized, "There are high expectations from the industry for the new government amid uncertainties such as global supply chain restructuring and economic recession," and stated, "Active policy promotion in areas such as investment expansion, workforce support, and regulatory easing should serve as a catalyst for technological innovation."