Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun visited a research center of Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday as the government seeks to promote research and development (R and D) projects to revitalize economic growth. "R and D projects play a key role in revitalizing the growth potential and securing economic security," Ahn said during his visit to the research center in southern Seoul. "Our focus is on investing in cutting-edge technologies where companies and the private sector encounter obstacles in making investments," he added. South Korea's annual budget for R and D projects in 2024 came to 26.5 trillion won, with the industry ministry taking charge of 5.1 trillion won. South Korea plans to raise tax cuts for additional R and D expenditures through the end of this year by 10 percentage points as well, raising the rates to 35 percent for conglomerates and 60 percent for small and medium-sized firms. Source: Yonhap News Agency