"I'll give you 400 million won a year, so come on"—KAIST professors send indiscriminate recruitment emails to 149 Chinese professors

According to People Power Party lawmaker Choi Soo-jin on the 24th, early last year, 149 KAIST professors received emails titled 'China's Global Outstanding Scientists Invitation Program,' which reached about 22% of KAIST's total (666 professors). The email reportedly stated, "With support from the Chinese government, we are inviting outstanding overseas talent," and "We will provide an annual salary of 2 million yuan (about 400 million won) and support for housing and children's tuition." ,,, KAIST research security team received these reports and launched their own investigation, while the National Intelligence Service conducted a comprehensive survey of major universities and government-funded researchers nationwide, discovering many similar cases. China is reportedly targeting Korean scientists at the national level to steal technology, and those with the skills and experience The 'Thousand Talents Plan,' which recruits talent under exceptional conditions, is a prime example. In 2020, a KAIST professor who participated in the Thousand Talents Plan was caught leaking core autonomous vehicle technology to China, and besides the plan, China is known to be approaching Korean researchers with new programs such as the 'Foreign Expert Project.' According to a survey by the Korean Academy of Science and Technology last May, 123 out of 200 members (61.5%) recruited overseas research institutions within the past five years. They said they had experience receiving offers, and among them, 52 (42%) had either moved overseas or were considering proposals, with 82.9% of recruitment offers coming from China. South Korea is structurally difficult to respond to attempts to steal technology through foreign talent recruitment, and since it is limited to professors' voluntary reporting and internal warnings, Representative Choi Su-jin pointed out, "We need to quickly pass the amendment to the National R&D Innovation Act to establish a system that allows research institutions to respond immediately," ,,, self-reporting and warnings ,,, difficult??? The US cuts off research funding and must disclose overseas institution affiliations, while the UK must obtain prior government approval, making it at least coercive!!!!!!!!