Helmholtz delegation visits South Korea

After Singapore, the second stop of the trip was South Korea. The country is considered one of the most technologically advanced in the world, investing five percent of its gross domestic product in research and development. From 2025, South Korea will also join the group of countries associated with Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation program. This opens the door to expanding existing collaborations in a number of ways.

The delegation, which also included a group from Forschungszentrum Jülich, visited the Center for Quantum Nanoscience and Seoul National University. In a joint workshop with the National Research Council (NST), organized by the Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), opportunities for cooperation in areas such as hydrogen, pandemic preparedness and bioengineering were discussed. During a visit to the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), the delegation met with Vice Minister Ryu Kwang-jun and learned about the country’s ambitious investment plans in information technology and digitalization. A reception at the residence of German Ambassador Georg Wilfried Schmidt with many Korean guests was also on the agenda. This provided an opportunity to continue discussions on plans for further cooperation.

Board members of Forschungszentrum Jülich and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER). Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and Forschungszentrum Jülich are also exploring cooperation in the fields of neuroscience, dark matter and high-energy physics with the Institute for Basic Science (IBS). There are already many long-standing collaborations between various Helmholtz Centres and Seoul National University (SNU). At the meeting, both sides reaffirmed their wish to expand the cooperation to include topics such as the bio-economy.

Read about the first part of the trip to Singapore

22.04.2024