87 Billion Won Budget for Nurturing Basic Sciences Likely to Be Cut

As the budget of 100 billion won that President Kim had promised to support for nurturing the basic sciences came to be cut in the National Assembly by the opposition of the Grand National Party (GNP), the academic circles began to repel against the budget reduction.

The National Conference for the College Institutes of Humanities (Chairperson Yoo Cho-Ha), the National Conference for the College Institutes of Fundamental Sciences (Chairperson Park Sung-Hyun), the National Dean`s Conference for the College of Humanities (Chairperson Kwon Young-Min), the National Dean`s Conference for the College of Social Sciences (Chairperson Hong Dong-Moon), the National Dean`s Conference for the College of Natural Sciences (Chairperson Park Sung-Hyun), and the Committee for Nurturing Basic Sciences (Chairperson Jung Dae-Hyun) had an emergent meeting to prepare an open letter on 20th, which was sent to lawmakers. They asserted in the letter that the reduction of budget for nurturing the basic sciences would bring a harmful impact on the nation in the long run.

Through the letter, the academic circles demanded for declining the budget reduction plan, maintaining that the national subsidy for developing the basic sciences should not be dealt with in the same light with the general administrative support or the items related to economy.

It is known that the GNP will cut 87 billion won among the national subsidy for newly-established institutes of 100 billion won during the process of deliberation of next year`s national budget bill. The party maintained that because the government already earmarked 130 billion won for supporting the establishment of academic research institutes, the additional support of 100 billion won was excessive, and thus only 13 billion won which was 10 percent of the existing national subsidy should be augmented.

However, Yoo Cho-Ha, chairperson of the National Conference for the College Institutes of Humanities, said that "the national subsidy for nurturing the basic sciences is to be provided following President Kim`s promise, and thus it is quite different from the subsidy for the establishment of academic research institutes, which has been operated through the Korea Research Foundation."

Hyoung-Chan Kim khc@donga.com