Paper Reviews Riddled with Gaps, Agency Head's Travel Under Fire... Lax Discipline in Science and Technology Sector Under Scrutiny [2026 National Assembly Audit]

Errors in National Research Project Paper Found Belatedly... National Research Foundation’s Oversight Responsibility Questioned
NIPA Head Faces Travel and Perjury Allegations, Along With Violations of Public Agencies’ Statutory Purchasing Obligations

A raft of reference errors was found in a paper produced under a national research project, while allegations of excessive travel by the head of a public agency and improper staffing practices also came under scrutiny. Some public institutions in science and technology were found to have failed to meet even their statutory purchasing obligations. As oversight gaps emerged one after another—from verifying research成果 to agency heads’ conduct and public institutions’ fulfillment of basic obligations—lax discipline in the science and technology sector became a key issue in the National Assembly’s audit.

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At the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee audit on October 20, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Juhee criticized the inadequate verification system for papers produced under national research projects and questioned the National Research Foundation of Korea’s responsibility for oversight.

The paper cited by Lee analyzed China’s space industry ecosystem and cited, among other things, Chinese policy documents on eye care and public health. Errors were found in 17 of its approximately 40 references. The paper was an output of a national research project worth 880 million won. Its publication was approved in March 2025, but the errors were not discovered until December that year, and the paper was finally retracted in June 2026.

Lee Juhee, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. Reporter Yoon Dongju.

Lee took issue with the fact that the errors were not caught before the paper was published in an academic journal. Citing data showing that the National Research Foundation of Korea had conducted no direct research ethics reviews in the past three years, she also pointed to the limitations of the current system, which leaves verification solely to research institutions.

“I’m not saying the foundation should review every one of tens of thousands of papers,” Lee said, emphasizing the need for a separate review system for research outputs funded by national projects. Given the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in writing academic papers, she also called for a system requiring researchers to disclose AI use in work funded by national projects and for related regulations to be updated.

Allegations over agency head’s travel and perjury, along with violations of statutory obligations

Independent lawmaker Choi Hyeokjin focused on the travel record of Park Yun-gyu, president of the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA).

According to data presented by Choi, Park made work trips on 326 days, including 244 days of domestic travel accompanied by a particular female employee. Choi also said that of 280 travel records he presented separately, 233 involved trips to Seoul, accounting for about 83%. He further alleged that many of the trips were primarily for meetings with executives from large private-sector companies and industry associations, and for attending external events.

Choi also raised questions about the approval process for overseas travel. He said that five of Park’s 10 overseas trips were approved internally, and that an exceptional travel procedure was used on the grounds that Park was attending events related to a state visit by the president, even though no supporting documentation was available.

Independent lawmaker Choi Hyeokjin. Courtesy of Choi Hyeokjin's office.

“At this point, he must resign,” Choi said, calling for Park to step down. He also called for the National Assembly to file a complaint over alleged perjury and for the Ministry of Science and ICT to seek an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection. However, the appropriateness of the trips and whether perjury occurred must be determined through further fact-checking and investigation.

It was also pointed out that public institutions in the science and technology sector had failed to properly fulfill their statutory purchasing obligations. According to Choi, 10 of the 21 institutions subject to the National Assembly audit that were required to give priority to purchasing products made by people with severe disabilities did not meet the applicable standard.

The purchase ratios at individual institutions were just 0.03% at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), 0.06% at the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, and 0.14% at the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP). Citing agency heads’ responsibility for management, Choi urged the Ministry of Science and ICT to review whether its affiliated institutions were meeting their obligations and to require them to submit improvement plans.

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