Photo = Getty Image Bank Mr. A, a researcher in his 40s, has been researching high-strength steel plates, called ‘God’s metal‘ because they can reduce the weight of cars, for over 10 years. He recently received an offer from Chinese buyer B at a shared office in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, asking if he would like to work in China. In an unexpected situation, Mr. A drew a line saying that he had no intention of changing jobs. However, Mr. B handed me a company introduction letter and told me to contact him at any time. Mr. A said, “The offer to provide tuition for my children’s international school, health checkups for both parents (around 5 million won per person), and even a housekeeper at a salary I could never dream of is ringing in my ears,” and added, “It’s a condition I can’t help but shake.”
China is stealing S-level talent
According to the scientific community on the 3rd, China’s move to steal Korea’s top talent is becoming more blatant by the day. The basic annual salary is tripled, and various benefits are offered, including an apartment measuring 50 pyeong (165 m2), interpretation support, round-trip flights to and from Korea six times a year, and tax payment.
In the past, they approached large corporations and offered large sums of money in exchange for technology leaks, but recently, their targets have diversified to include affiliates of large corporations, small and medium-sized companies, universities, and research institutes. Chinese headhunters are openly recruiting in Pangyo, Teheran-ro, and Daedeok Research Complex, where research and development (R&D) talent gathers. ‘Tweezer hunting’ also takes place, where a local visit is made to recruit a specific professor who participated in a famous overseas academic conference.
A ‘diversion proposal’ to go to China via Europe or the US is also a new phenomenon. A professor working at Seoul National University said, “We proposed a plan to move to a European affiliated company invested by China and then move to the Chinese headquarters three years later,” adding, “We also set up a startup in the U.S. with Chinese capital and encourage them to do so.”
The Thousand Talents Plan that evolves day by day
China began to actively recruit talent after launching the ‘Thousand Talents Plan’, a program to attract 1,000 overseas science and technology talents. The Thousand Talents Plan is a program to recruit overseas talent led by the Chinese Communist Party. It includes plans to attract 1,000 science and technology talents to China over a 10-year period from 2009 to 2018.
Talents from the Thousand Talents Plan are divided into two types: ‘innovative talents’ who will transfer research know-how to China and ‘entrepreneurial talents’ who will transplant advanced management systems. Talented individuals selected for recruitment are virtually guaranteed a blank check, including salaries unimaginable in Korea, autonomy in research, and even employment in retirement as an advisor. Instead, research results should first be shared with the Chinese government. So far, it has been reported that about 7,000 overseas Chinese scientists, professors, and businessmen have returned to Korea under the Thousand Talents Plan. In Korea, it is said that about 10 talented people, including Seoul National University and KAIST, participated in the Thousand Talents Plan.
Taking into account opposition from countries concerned about talent outflow, China declared the end of the Thousand Talents Program. However, the scientific community explains that nothing has changed. The name of the project changes frequently, such as ‘Enlightenment Plan’ or ‘Plan to Attract High-Quality Foreign Experts’, but the pattern of recruiting talent remains the same.
There is no legal basis to stop Chinese talent brokers in Korea. There is an Industrial Technology Protection Act as a basis for preventing damage from technology leaks, but this law does not provide punishment for mediation, brokerage, and introduction. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT’s outflow of science and engineering talent, 340,000 science and engineering talent left Korea in the past 10 years (2013-2022). There are 96,000 people with master’s or doctoral degrees who are classified as high-skilled personnel. Of these, a significant number are expected to have flowed to China.
Some say that China’s strategy fits market logic. They argue that it is natural in a capitalist system for talented people to flock to places that offer better conditions, and that Korean companies and research institutes should also increase compensation. Euijun Yoon, a special professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Seoul National University, emphasized, “The era of tying up talent by appealing to patriotism is over,” and added, “The government must come up with special measures to prevent the outflow of top talent.”
China’s technology level has already surpassed Korea’s
China is developing the semiconductor, robot, and artificial intelligence (AI) industries based on the cutting-edge technology and knowledge shared by recruited talent. According to ‘China’s AI Industry Trends and Implications’ published by the International Trade Research Institute of the Korea International Trade Association, the size of China’s AI industry is expected to expand by an average of 26.8% annually from 150 billion yuan in 2020, reaching 450 billion yuan next year. Of the global AI papers cited in 2020, 20.7% were published in China. China surpassed the United States for the first time and took first place in the number of paper citations.
Some analysts say that Korea’s science and technology has already been surpassed by China. According to the ‘2022 Technology Level Assessment Results’ reviewed and decided by the Ministry of Science and ICT at the National Science and Technology Advisory Council in February, the technology level by country is 94.7% in the European Union (EU) and 86.4 in Japan, assuming 100% of the United States, which ranks first. %, followed by China 82.6% and Korea 81.5%. In the previous 2020 survey, Korea maintained a slight advantage over China (80%) at 80.1%, but allowed a reversal after two years. This is the result of an evaluation of 136 technologies in 11 major fields, including information and communication technology (ICT), software (SW), machinery and manufacturing, and space and aviation.
China’s technology level in the ICT/SW field was only 67.5% in 2012, but grew significantly to 87.9% in 2022. During the same period, Korea only grew by 0.4 percentage points from 82.2% to 82.6%. In a detailed evaluation of national strategic technologies such as AI, semiconductors and displays, quantum, and hydrogen, China recorded 86.5%, surpassing Korea (81.7%).
Minister of Science and ICT Yoo Sang-im mentioned this at a confirmation hearing last August and said, “The reason China is ahead of Japan and Europe in the AI sector is because it has selected more than 20,000 people with government funds and sent them to the United States for training for several decades.” “It is a crisis, but the people are not fully aware of it,” he pointed out.
Reporter Kang Kyung-ju qurasoha@hankyung.com
