World-renowned research institutes and companies will likely open their branch or joint research center in South Korea this year.

The U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH), the National Institute for Materials Science and the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) in Japan and Russia's State Optical Institute are set to establish a branch or joint research center here.

Last year, the Pasteur Institute, France's leading biotechnology research center, opened a branch in the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and Britain's University of Cambridge Cavendish Laboratory and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) founded a joint R&D center for physics and nanotechnology in Korea.

A government official said that the attraction of global research institutes would provide more opportunities for local scientists to work with brilliant foreign researchers, which will in turn contribute to boosting the country’s technology development.