The domestic scientific community gathered in Seoul on Friday, vowing to make a fresh start in contributing to the nation’s scientific advancement and economic growth.

About seven hundred people from the government and scientific circles attended the meeting, including Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, Science and Technology Minister Kim Woo-shik and other science-related officials and leading scientists.

The prime minister praised scientists for contributing to Korea’s achievement last year of three-hundred-billion dollars in exports.

She also pledged that the government will spare no efforts to support domestic science, investing nearly ten trillion won in research and human resource cultivation.