The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and ICT have selected four universities—Seoul National University, Sungkyunkwan University, Changwon National University, and Chungnam National University—as the sites for the 2026 National Research Institute project.
National Research Institutes are university-affiliated research centers established to lead world-class basic research.
These institutes will each receive 10 billion won annually for 10 years.

In the project's first year, 2025, four universities—Korea University, Yonsei University, Ewha Womans University, and Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH)—were selected and have been operating under the National Research Institute system since September.
This year, the selection process was divided into Type 1, which covers the entire nation, and Type 2, which is exclusive to regional universities, to expand participation opportunities for regional institutions.
The names of the four institutes selected this year are Seoul National University's "Human-Centered Physical AI Robotics Institute," Sungkyunkwan University's "Sungkyun Intelligent Energy Solution National Research Institute," Changwon National University's "Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Platform National Research Institute," and Chungnam National University's "Theranostics Convergence National Research Institute."
(Photo: Provided by Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Education, Yonhap News)