Choi Jae-hyung, a 29-year-old doctoral student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who asked to use a pseudonym, said only five of the 10 students who studied mechanical engineering with him at Seoul National University remain in the field. The others have switched to medicine or law, joined major corporations, or settled in the U.S.
Asked whether he planned to return to South Korea after completing his doctorate, Choi said he did not. “There are more opportunities, and the pay is better,” he told Korea Times, comparing the U.S. with South Korea.
South Korea is among the world’s biggest investors in research and development. The government has allocated a record 35.5 trillion won (US$23.1 billion) for R&D this year. Including private-sector investment, total R&D spending is expected to reach about 131 trillion won, equivalent to 5.13% of GDP, the second-highest share among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries after Israel.
Despite the investment, a report by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry found that about 340,000 science and engineering professionals left the country between 2013 and 2023, including 96,000 with master’s or doctoral degrees.
Another study released in March by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training found that about one in five newly graduated Ph.D. holders in natural sciences and 11.5% in engineering were considering emigrating in 2025.
Researchers at Korea University. Photo courtesy of the university
Low pay drives talent abroad
Data from 23 research institutes under South Korea’s Ministry of Science showed salary increases over the past five years have failed to keep pace with inflation. Researchers with bachelor’s degrees earn an average of 40.6 million won a year, while those with doctorates earn about 77.4 million won. By comparison, new university graduates at Samsung Electronics earn about 55 million won annually on average.
Jung Min-seop, a senior researcher at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, said his first salary after earning a Ph.D. was about 2.4 million won a month. “I wondered whether I should work nights as a designated driver,” Jung said. “Even after spending 10 years earning a degree, it is hard to say there is sufficient compensation.”
By comparison, U.S. national laboratories typically pay about $70,000 a year to researchers with bachelor’s degrees and $120,000 to those with doctorates. Choi said newly graduated Ph.D. holders in Silicon Valley can earn starting salaries of around 300 million won a year, with pay reaching as much as 500 million won in AI-related fields.
A survey by the Bank of Korea of more than 2,700 researchers found that 42.9% are considering working overseas within the next three years. Among respondents in their 20s and 30s, seven in 10 said they were considering leaving.
Unstable careers and administrative burden
Researchers also pointed to job insecurity as a major reason for leaving.
Jung Min-young of the Korea Brain Research Institute said fewer than half of the institute’s roughly 200 researchers hold permanent positions. Many who planned to return to South Korea after studying abroad ultimately remained overseas because they could not find long-term jobs.
Data released Monday through South Korea’s National Statistics Portal showed that 33.3% of new doctoral degree holders in 2025 were unemployed, either because they were unable to find work or had stopped looking for jobs. It was the first time the figure exceeded 30% since the survey began in 2014, rising from 25.9% in 2018.
The increase reflects a shortage of permanent research positions at large companies and government-funded institutes, Seoul Economic Daily reported. The newspaper also reported that the growing use of AI may be reducing demand for some entry-level research jobs.
Researchers also said government funding priorities often change with each administration, making it difficult to pursue long-term scientific work.
One researcher said international collaborative projects had previously received strong support, but funding has increasingly shifted toward AI. The researcher said he struggled to find a connection between his work and AI in order to secure funding, adding that basic science, “which needs steady investment, seems to have been relatively neglected.”
Administrative duties also reduce time available for research.
Lee, 28, a graduate of a Korean science and technology institute who is now pursuing an engineering doctorate at a private university in the U.S., said graduate students working in Korean labs often rotated responsibility for paperwork, invoices and even waste management. Meanwhile, in the U.S., he said dedicated staff handle those responsibilities, allowing researchers to focus entirely on their work.
Song Seung-won, a researcher at Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, told Korea Herald that the departure of newly graduated Ph.D. holders should not be viewed simply as a brain drain, but as part of researchers’ career development. He said government policy should encourage scientists to return after completing postdoctoral programs overseas.
KRIVET also suggested expanding fellowship programs for returning researchers and strengthening links between doctoral training and research careers in corporate R&D.
Cho Yong-chul, an associate professor at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, told Korea Times that South Korea must do more than increase research funding to retain scientific talent.
He said the government and academia urgently need to show young researchers that they can build stable careers if they dedicate themselves to science.
“The people involved know best why this research work is necessary,” Cho said. “If their achievements are recognized and they are compensated accordingly, talent will not leave the laboratory. Only when talent remains will national competitiveness rise.”