President Yoon Suk Yeol met with scientists and engineers on Monday and vowed to dramatically change preliminary feasibility studies for research and development(R&D) projects so that research can begin promptly.
 
Yoon attended this year's Science and ICT Day held at the Gwacheon National Science Museum and vowed to reform R&D support methods to facilitate innovative and challenging research.
 
The South Korean president emphasized the importance of securing technological sovereignty, adding that for the country to take a leap forward, it must become a “first mover” in the field of cutting-edge science and technology.
 
He further vowed that the government will do its best to help Korea become one of the top three countries in the world in fields such as AI semiconductors and advanced biotechnology by 2030.
 
This Monday marks the first time in eight years that a sitting president has attended the Science and ICT Day ceremony, the previous attendee being then-President Park Geun-hye in 2016.