At least 13 core industry experts won over by China

It has been confirmed that at least 13 South Korean professors and researchers joined the Thousand Talents Plan, an overseas high-level talent recruitment program run by the Chinese government. Whereas the United States, Japan, and Australia have systematic measures in place to ensure national technological security and keep China from stealing their talents, the South Korean government still seems to have a vague understanding of the status quo. Even with some suspecting that a considerable number of Korean talents might have been part of the program, it is only recently that Seoul has looked into specific stats, career details and personal information.

The Dong-A Ilbo did research on the Thousand Talents Plan from June to September based on related Beijing-run websites and Chinese scholars’ testimonies, and discovered 13 South Korean participants – professors and researchers – to interview six out of them. It also gained access to databases where online data previously deleted are stored although the program’s official website is currently closed down, and went through a thorough analysis of materials.

According to reports, most South Korean participants in the program visited China between 2011 and 2018. Having taught STEM students at the country’s top universities, such as Seoul National University, POSTEC, and KAIST, they relocated to Tsinghua University, Fudan University, and Xi'an University of Science and Technology. The list of the plan’s South Korean scholars even includes South Korean presidential award winners and those rated one of the top 5 among the world’s top 100 scientists selected by overseas news media. They work in the country’s core and strategic technological fields of quantum computing, artificial intelligence, deep learning, nanocomposite, shipbuilding, chips and display, and superconductors.

Professor Kim Ho-jung, a participant in the Thousand Talents Plan who had an interview under a pseudonym, spent 21 years working at Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display starting from 1995 until he joined a display tech business in Changzhou Province in 2016. He was invited to serve as an overseas expert in 2018 as part of the program in question and received research funds. Afterward, he served as a managing-level professional for at least three Chinese display businesses. The Thousand Talents Plan was set up by the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party to secure a thousand overseas talents.


주현우 기자 woojoo@donga.com