President Park Geun-hye called Thursday for strategic support in selecting top-notch scientists who can pursue Nobel Prizes and securing excellence in areas where South Korea has strength.
The move underscored Park’s latest efforts to strengthen basic science and technology amid media criticism that South Korea’s basic science has a long way to go before winning Nobel Prizes.
No South Korean has won a Nobel Prize in physics, chemistry or physiology or medicine. Former President Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Kim is the only South Korean Nobel laureate.
“If we consistently invest in basic science and concentrate on research, we can become a power of basic science,” Park said in a meeting. She also pushed for measures to make sure that researchers can develop basic research into core technology that could be used by private companies. (Yonhap)
