- The Brain Pool+ (Institution Recruitment) was launched to provide 3 billion won annually to five selected institutions.

– The 2026 Brain Pool (BP/BP+) program was launched to select a total of 85 projects including individual scientist recruitment.

【Relevant National Task】 

• 27. Cultivating a Basic Research Ecosystem and Emerging as a Global S&T Talent Powerhouse

The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister: Bae Kyung-hoon) announced the plan to select new projects under the “2026 Brain Pool (BP/BP+)” program. As part of National Task 27 “Cultivating a Basic Research Ecosystem and Emerging as a Global S&T Talent Powerhouse,” the program aims to attract 2,000 outstanding overseas scientists and researchers to Korea by 2030 and to significantly enhance the country’s global research competitiveness.

Since its introduction in 1994, the Brain Pool program has attracted highly qualified researchers from around the world to Korea, playing a pivotal role in the internationalization of domestic research environments and in helping secure new growth engines.

In 2026, amid intensifying global race for technological supremacy, the Korean government reflected the importance of securing top-tier talent by significantly increasing the program’s budget compared to the previous year (38.8 billion won in 2025 → 54.6 billion won in 2026). The government also introduced a new BP+ program (Institution Recruitment) to enable domestic research institutions to attract outstanding scientists and researchers independently and strategically.

The details of the announcement are as follows. The newly introduced BP+ program is a large-scale project designed to support industrial, academic, and research institutions in attracting top research teams or outstanding talent from overseas to achieve world-class research outcomes. MSIT plans to select five institutions and provide annual financial support of approximately 3 billion won per institution in the form of block funding (which covers labor costs, recruitment expenses, and research activities) for up to five years (2+3 years).

MSIT will also select approximately 80 projects under the BP program (Individual Overseas Scientist Recruitment), which invites individual researchers to meet the needs of domestic research institutions. Under this program, MSIT will provide each scientist with up to 350 million won over a maximum of three years to cover labor costs, living expenses, and research activities.

Applications for the new programs began on February 12. Any research institutions and principal researchers that are interested in these programs should check the deadlines for each program* and submit the required documents through the Integrated R&D Information System (www.iris.go.kr). Further details are available on the MSIT website and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) website (www.nrf.re.kr).

• Deadline for the BP Program: 18:00, Thursday, April 16, 2026
• Deadline for the BP+ Program: 18:00, Friday, April 10, 2026

The 1st Vice Minister of MSIT Koo Hyuk-chae said, “By attracting outstanding overseas scientists, we expect domestic researchers to work together with them and further strengthen their research competitiveness.” He added, “MSIT will spare no policy effort to position Korea as a hub for top-tier talent and shape an environment where domestic and international researchers can grow together.”