Seoul, South Korea – September 10, 2026
South Korea is removing a significant barrier to researchers turning their discoveries into companies, as the Ministry of Science and ICT moves to relax conflict-of-interest rules that have long complicated academic spinouts.
The ministry announced Wednesday that amendments to the Act on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest now allow researchers at government-funded institutes to hold equity in companies they found based on their own research without triggering conflict-of-interest restrictions. The changes, approved in a Cabinet meeting September 8, will take effect in March 2027.
The legislation amends both the law on government-funded science and technology institutes and four related statutes governing science and technology universities. The amendments passed the National Assembly's plenary session on August 20.
A Shift in Innovation Policy
The revisions were designed to support research institutes and researchers in turning research results into startups or technology transfers. Until now, if a researcher at a state-funded institute founded a company using technology owned by the institute and held a stake in that company, the company could be classified as a party with a private interest related to the researcher.
Under the amendments, a company will no longer be treated as a party with a private interest under the Act on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest even if a researcher at a state-funded science institute holds a stake in it after founding it using technology owned by the institute or transferring technology to it. As a result, researchers can hold stakes in companies that commercialize technology they developed while carrying less of a conflict-of-interest burden and continuing follow-up research and commercialization work.
South Korea's government-funded research institutes employ thousands of scientists and engineers working on everything from semiconductors and batteries to biotechnology and materials science. The Ministry of Science and ICT said the change addresses a widely documented bottleneck in the country's innovation ecosystem.
Global Context
The reform aligns South Korea with other nations that have modernized technology transfer policies. The Bayh-Dole Act in the United States, passed in 1980, granted universities ownership of inventions from federally funded research and opened the door to thousands of academic startups. European countries have followed with similar frameworks, though the specific conflict-of-interest rules vary.
Korean research institutes have operated under stricter conflict rules than their American counterparts, in part to maintain public trust in publicly funded research. Critics argued the rules had become overly cautious, discouraging commercialization even when the public benefit was clear.
The ministry's announcement noted that tech transfer by researchers at government-funded science and technology research institutes will be eased starting in March next year. The change is intended to spur commercialization of technology by lifting restrictions that applied to researchers when they founded companies or transferred technology based on their research results.
What This Means for Researchers
Researchers at Korea's government-funded institutes—including the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, the Korea Institute of Energy Research, and dozens of others—will now be able to pursue spinouts with fewer administrative hurdles. The amendments preserve existing reporting requirements for transparency while removing the automatic conflict classification.
This could accelerate startup formation in Korea's priority technology sectors. The ministry has already identified artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotechnology, and new energy as strategic areas where commercialization matters for national competitiveness.
Industry observers said the policy shift could help Korea narrow the gap with the United States and China in university-to-market translation. The three countries lead the world in R&D investment, but Korea's ratio of academic spinouts to research output has lagged.
Implementation and Oversight
The amendments take effect in March 2027, giving institutes time to update their internal procedures. The ministry will publish detailed implementation guidelines in the coming months, including templates for disclosure forms and conflict-management protocols.
Researchers who already have companies in development may seek retroactive clarification from their home institutes. The ministry said the Public Relations Division is available to answer questions through msitmedia[at]korea[dot]kr.
The policy change comes as Korea continues to expand its research budget and strategic technology initiatives. Earlier this year, the ministry approved a new phase of basic research funding totaling KRW 175.5 billion across more than 2,000 projects, signaling continued commitment to upstream science alongside downstream commercialization.
Source: Ministry of Science and ICT, Republic of Korea, September 10, 2026.
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Institutional Research Desk · Foresight Institute of Research and Translation
The collective editorial and research translation board of FIRAT, synthesising peer-reviewed evidence, policy briefs, and division milestones across our seven foundational research pillars.
