South Korea and the European Union announced the country is joining Horizon Europe as an associate member, expanding research opportunities for researchers.
According to the EU, the signing of the Association Agreement is expected to take place in 2025, pending the completion of all necessary validations on both sides. The signature will officially state Korea’s participation as an associate member in Pillar 2 of Horizon Europe.
This pillar allocates more than 53 billion and aims to fund projects that will cover societal issues. Topics include research in areas like health, climate, energy, mobility, and digital transition in general.
“Joining [the program] will be an important opportunity to strengthen research cooperation with Europe, an advanced country in science and technology, and to diversify Korea’s cooperation countries and methods,” said Yoo Sang-im, Minister of Science and ICT of South Korea.
New Research Perks
Before joining as an associate member, Korean researchers could only participate in a Horizon Europe program as affiliated partners upon invitation from researchers from other member or associate member countries. Now, South Korean researchers can join initiatives on an equal basis with European Union researchers.
The status change also means South Korean researchers can conduct research using Horizon Europe funds directly through financial contributions.
Another good news for researchers is that they will be able to participate as observers in the Horizon Europe Program Committee. This will allow them to learn about future projects in advance and share their views on project planning.
“We will do our best to make relevant preparations so that we can have a place to conduct research with excellent researchers,” Sang-im added.
