Uljin-gun Establishes Underwater Glider Operation Center ... "Creating a Silicon Valley for Marine Industry"

Establishment of Gyeongbuk Marine Science Research Complex (GMSP) by 2024

Aerial view of the Underwater Glider Operation Center & National Marine Big Data Platform Center.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Uljin-gun, Gyeongbuk announced on the 22nd that it will actively promote various policy projects to create new growth engines in the region, such as fostering new marine industries, to overcome the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 and prepare for the government's energy transition policy.

The marine science industry hub of Uljin-gun is the Gyeongbuk Marine Science Park (GMSP).

During the three years of the 7th local government term, Uljin-gun focused on establishing a foundation for various marine equipment industries, and in April last year, it achieved the selection of the project "Development of Core Components and Equipment Technology for Underwater Gliders and Establishment of an Operation Center" in a public contest by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

Accordingly, Uljin-gun secured 1 billion KRW in national research and development funds for the first year and plans to establish an operation center within GMSP by 2024, led by the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation of Kyungpook National University, along with technology development.

Until now, underwater gliders have been entirely dependent on imports. However, once core components and equipment are developed domestically, it is expected that the observation range will expand from coastal buoy monitoring limitations to offshore and deep-sea areas, enabling low-cost, high-quality marine observation information production.

An official from Uljin-gun stated, "The operation of the center, education and training related to the industry, and attracting companies will greatly contribute to revitalizing the local economy," adding, "Starting with the underwater glider technology development project, we plan to devote more effort to discovering future new growth industries through research and development and industrialization of marine science and technology in the East Coast region."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.