President Lee Jae-myung emphasized on Feb. 20 at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) graduation ceremony that he would "build a solid safety net for science and engineering fields to ensure that at least no research stops due to lack of funding."
At the 2026 graduation ceremony held at KAIST's main campus in Daejeon, President Lee stated, "Our government is putting all its efforts into restoring the research ecosystem that collapsed due to R&D budget cuts under the previous administration."
He continued, "The boldest achievement of our government is increasing the basic research budget by more than 17% so that early-career researchers can fully dedicate themselves to their work." He added, "Whether it's a lab startup or an unknown theory the world hasn't yet imagined, trust the government and take on challenges without hesitation."
President Lee personally presented diplomas to one representative graduate each from the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs.
On the same day, President Lee attended the first joint commissioning ceremony for the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies held at the main parade ground of Gyeryongdae in South Chungcheong Province. He urged, "We must completely eliminate the remnants of the illegal martial law and build a Korean military faithful to its original duties and roles." He also called for the nation to be "armed with a strong commitment to self-reliant national defense, protecting our country with our own strength."