The Ministry of Science and ICT (“MSIT”: Minister Lee Jong-Ho) announced that the "Eleventh Korea-U.S. Science and Technology Joint Committee Meeting (“S&T JCM”), a major, minister-level consultative body on cooperation between Korea and the U.S., will be held on May 19, 2023, at the Westin Chosun Seoul Hotel. Comprehensive follow-up measures for the outcomes of the April visit to the U.S. will be discussed at the meeting.
The upcoming S&T JCM will be headed by Minister Lee Jong-Ho and Dr. Prabhakar, Director of the White House OSTP. The list of Korean participants include relevant government ministries and institutes such as MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), MOTIE (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy), MOF (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, KMA (Korea Meteorological Administration), KRISS (Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science), KIOST (Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology), KOPRI (Korea Polar Research Institute of Marine Research Placement), KIAT (Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology), KFE (Korea Institute of Fusion Energy), NNFC (National Nanofab Center), and NRF (National Research Foundation). The US participants are comprised of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the Department of State (DOS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the U.S. Embassy in ROK. A total of 100 high-level officials from both countries are expected to participate in the event.
The S&T JCM is an inter-governmental meeting which takes place regularly under the ROK-U.S. Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation. Since its first meeting in December 1993, the S&T JCM has been a channel of discussion for measures to promote bilateral S&T cooperation. The 11th S&T JCM is held as the first in-person meeting since the 9th in March, 2016, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is anticipated that the outcomes of the agendas agreed upon at the Korea-U.S. Summit will make progress at this JCM.
※ The 10th Korea-U.S. S&T JCM was held via video conference (December 2020)
Beginning with discussions on the priorities and directions of future S&T cooperation, the two countries will share policies and devise plans for cooperation in the fields of next-generation semiconductors, nuclear fusion & nuclear physics, and emerging technologies. Subsequently, they will discuss strategies to strengthen solidarity in the fundamental elements of international cooperation such as personnel exchange, research ethics and standards, as well as solutions to global issues utilizing science and technology, including climate change and polar oceans. In addition, a separate meeting between high-level officials from the MSIT and the U.S. Department of State will be held to engage in an in-depth discussion on follow-up collaboration plans for the overall S&T-related outcomes from the Korea-US Summit held in April 2023.
Minister Lee Jong-Ho stated, “This S&T JCM is especially more significant because of the fact that the U.S. government officials responsible for S&T policies paid a large-scale visit to Korea to discuss the follow-up measures on the S&T agendas agreed upon by the two leaders at the Korea-U.S. Summit, and to share policies and exchange broad perspectives between the two countries’ government officials.”
“As a result of this S&T JCM, we expect various new collaborations in advanced science and technology across all fields, including joint research and personnel exchange, which will further expand the scope of the ROK-U.S. Technology Alliance.” he added.
For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division (E-mail: msitpress@korea.kr) of the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Please refer to the attached PDF.