Choo Kyung-ho, the floor leader of South Korea's ruling People Power Party, addressed a party meeting at the National Assembly to emphasize the importance of revitalizing science and technology. In a bid to support the growth of talent in these fields, the government and the ruling party unveiled a new initiative on Thursday. This program aims to offer an annual stipend of 5 million won ($3,800) to 1,000 master's students in science and engineering. During a consultation meeting at the National Assembly, the government and the People Power Party discussed the "Strategy for the Growth and Development of Science and Technology Talents." As part of this strategy, the party plans to introduce a "Korean-style stipend" to assist science and engineering students with their research efforts. The initiative will see master's and doctoral students receiving monthly stipends of 800,000 won and 1.1 million won, respectively. Additionally, a specialized master's scholarship program is set to be launched, providing 5 million won per year to 1,000 master's students. These measures are being proposed in response to concerns that the number of science and technology students could decline significantly by 2050, potentially impacting the operation of labs in the future. The finalization of these plans is expected to take place at the upcoming third Talent Development Strategy Meeting scheduled for Friday.