`Sharing` of sci-biz belt sites to weight on nat`l coffers

The government will inject 5.2 trillion won (4.8 billion U.S. dollars) instead of the original budget of 3.5 trillion won (3.2 billion dollars) into the International Science Business Belt.

With the change in plan to pick a single site and the ensuing selection of several venues for the belt, the budget has jumped astronomically.

The government has struggled to appease not only the Chungcheong, Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces but also the Seoul metropolitan region, sending the project`s cost to taxpayers skyrocketing.

As the belt`s original purpose of cultivating basic science is largely disregarded, the project has turned into a battle of pork barreling between provinces to secure science budget for their respective regions. As such, it will likely entail huge aftereffects including regional conflict.

The Education, Science and Technology Ministry said Monday that it finalized a plan to develop Daejeon (Shindong and Dungok districts) as the hub of the belt and to distribute site labs to Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, namely Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, and Pohang University of Science and Technology, and Gwangju (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology) and thus expand research functions.

Also chosen were the Cheongwon (Osong, Ochang), Yeongi (Sejong City) and Cheonan areas located within 40 kilometers from Daejeon as functional districts to conduct applied research, development and industrialization in collaboration with the hub district.

Education Minister Lee Ju-ho said, “The overall budget for the International Science Business Belt has been set at 5.2 trillion won (4.8 trillion won),” adding, “Of this amount, 1.5 trillion won (1.4 billion dollars) and 600 billion won (550 million dollars) will be injected into the (Daegu-Gyeongsang) allied campus and the Gwangju campus, respectively.”

Another 800 billion won (730 million dollars) will be injected into 10 individual site labs across the nation, including universities in the Seoul metropolitan area.

On the surprise decision to increase the budget, Lee said, “Investment in basic science has thus far been negligible,” adding, “We thought benefits should be increased overall to attract quality human resources.”

A presidential office source said, “The science and technology budget amounts to 14.9 trillion won (14 billion dollars) for this year and will reach 16.6 trillion won (15 billion dollars) next year,” adding, “The difference of 1.7 trillion won (1.6 billion dollars) will be additionally injected in the Science Business Belt. It reflects the government’s commitment to secure future fundamental technologies and cultivate human resources by spending the additional budget in a meaningful way.”

A source in the science community said, however, “If the government spends the increase in the R&D budget for next year on the Science Business Belt, basic research at universities and state-run think tanks will have no chance to receive funding.”

uneasy75@donga.com