[Scientists Disappearing]⑤Korea Lacks a Structure for Long-Term Researcher Growth...What Is the Solution?

Focus Should Shift from Quantitative Expansion to Long-Term Growth of Researchers
Time to Establish Career Safety Nets for Scientists

Even as AI Reshapes the Research Ecosystem,
Its Ability to Replace Researchers Remains Limited

Editor's NoteThe statement that scientists are disappearing may sound exaggerated. In fact, the number of graduate students in science and engineering and investment in research and development (R&D) have been maintained in terms of statistics. However, in the research field, a very different picture is emerging: unfilled graduate programs, prolonged postdoctoral researcher (postdoc) periods, and research labs in regional areas that remain eerily quiet. Through this series, The Asia Business Daily has pursued the question, "Why are scientists disappearing?" We have explored solutions for how policies and research settings must change to create a Korea where scientists can remain and continue their research for the long term.

"The problem facing Korea’s science and technology sector right now is not a lack of talent. We have trained many people, but we have failed to create a structure that allows researchers to remain and grow over the long term."

Park Kibum, Senior Research Fellow at the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) (pictured), made this diagnosis of the current crisis in science and engineering during an interview with The Asia Business Daily on the 20th. Since the 1990s, Korea has steadily increased its pool of science and technology talent, but has failed to build a research ecosystem and job market that can absorb and nurture these individuals. He emphasized, "It is now time to move away from policies focused solely on quantitative expansion and shift toward a structure where researchers can grow over the long term."

Senior Research Fellow Kibum Park of the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily on the 22nd. Provided by STEPI

"The Real Issue Is the Lack of Research Jobs, Not a Shortage of Science and Engineering Talent"

Senior Research Fellow Park also pointed out at a recent joint forum hosted by the National Assembly, the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST), and the Korean Academy of Science and Technology that talent development policies focusing on expanding graduate school quotas have already reached their limit. He judged that the main problem now is not a lack of talent, but a mismatch between supply and demand. He said, "For the past 30 years, Korea has not actually suffered from a quantitative shortage of science and engineering talent," and suggested, "From now on, policy efforts should focus on creating high-quality R&D jobs and long-term career structures, rather than simply increasing the workforce."

Between 1991 and 1995, the increase in jobs requiring R&D personnel was 2.6 times higher than the number of science and engineering PhDs actually produced. However, after that, the supply and demand curve gradually reversed, and by 2016–2020, the number of new PhDs had grown to twice the number of PhD-level job openings.

Related article: [Scientists Disappearing]②All That Remains After the PhD Is a "One-Year Contract"

Senior Research Fellow Park especially recognized the weakening of regional research ecosystems as a national crisis. He said, "If the current trend of concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area continues, some regional universities may find it extremely difficult even to secure graduate students," adding, "Once a regional research ecosystem is broken, it is difficult to restore it through short-term budget injections alone."

He further analyzed that while not all regions outside the Seoul metropolitan area are weakening simultaneously, the inflow of research personnel and students is increasingly concentrated in certain universities and fields, rapidly widening regional gaps. He emphasized, "Until now, policies have focused on increasing research funding and graduate school enrollment, but going forward, the nation must make strategic decisions about which universities and research fields to sustain in the long term."

Regarding the predominance of short-term project structures and the prolongation of postdoctoral researcher positions, he analyzed, "The current system passes on excessive uncertainty to young researchers," and "The paradox is that the more talented someone is, the sooner they tend to leave the research field." He advised, "Now is the time to move beyond metrics such as number of publications and short-term achievements, and build a career safety net so that young researchers can grow into independent researchers over the long term."

Can AI Replace Empty Laboratories?

There is a growing sentiment that artificial intelligence (AI) may be a practical solution for maintaining research productivity in extreme environments, where more papers and data must be processed with fewer staff. This is because generative AI is rapidly permeating all aspects of research, from paper searching and summarization to experimental design, data analysis, and code writing. In research settings, it is even said that "AI can easily do the work of a skilled graduate student."

Experts agree that in research labs, the use of generative AI to draft papers, explore experimental conditions, and visualize data is becoming increasingly frequent, thereby accelerating the pace of research.

Cha Miyoung, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (MPI-SP) in Germany, said, "AI can significantly reduce repetitive tasks such as data analysis, paper searching, and basic code writing," and added, "Previously, these tasks would require graduate students to spend days, but now AI can often complete them in just a few hours." She went on to predict, "Just like one-person startups, research labs may be reorganized into small, elite, high-efficiency teams, and we may see the emergence of entirely new scientific professions that fuse AI technologies."

However, she asserted that AI cannot completely replace researchers. Director Cha said, "It will remain a uniquely human domain to oversee the overall direction and the complex orchestration of the research process," and "While AI can enhance efficiency, the philosophical questions and value judgments—such as 'why is this research necessary?'—will ultimately be left to humans."

Senior Research Fellow Park also drew a line, saying, "AI cannot fully replace researchers." He emphasized, "Ultimately, what matters is the ability to ask the right questions," and added, "In the era of AI, the value of researchers with long-accumulated experience and a strong sense of purpose may become even more important." He left open the possibility that the research ecosystem itself could be fundamentally reorganized by leveraging AI. The traditional 'labor-intensive' model, where numerous graduate students performed repetitive experiments over long hours, may shift to an 'intelligent' structure where a small group of core researchers collaborates with AI and automation systems.

Kibeom Park, Senior Research Fellow at the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI), is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily on the 22nd. Provided by STEPI

Senior Research Fellow Park noted, "If AI replaces much of the repetitive work such as paper searching, data processing, and code writing, the staffing structure required in research labs may fundamentally change. In the age of AI, researchers who can define problems and devise new research directions, rather than simply conducting repetitive studies, are likely to become even more important."

He added, "Scientists are not created overnight," and continued, "From now on, science and technology talent policies should be redesigned—not around how many people are produced, but around how long each researcher can grow and nurture the next generation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.