Government Invests 251 Billion KRW in Autonomous Driving and Space Launch Vehicle 'Civil-Military Technology Cooperation Project'

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Moon Seung-wook and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Sardor Umurzakov are attending the 11th Korea-Uzbek Economic Joint Committee held at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 25th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The government will invest 251 billion KRW this year in the civil-military technology cooperation project that applies 4th industrial technologies such as autonomous driving and robotics, as well as space technologies like launch vehicles, to the military.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and 13 other ministries announced on the 28th that they have finalized the implementation plan for the civil-military technology cooperation project.

The civil-military technology cooperation project is a representative cross-ministerial cooperation project that started in 1999. This year's budget has increased by 19.2% compared to the previous year. A total of 8 ministries plan to promote 250 tasks (including 47 new tasks) by investing 191.3 billion KRW in the civil-military technology development project, which develops technologies needed by both civilian and military sectors, and 48.4 billion KRW in the civil-military technology transfer project, which commercializes technologies mutually transferred between civilian and military sectors.

This year's new tasks focus on developing core technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution to advance the military into a high-tech force and enhance industrial competitiveness through new technologies. A total of 37.69 billion KRW will be invested in 7 civil-military technology development tasks in core fields of the 4th Industrial Revolution such as autonomous driving, robotics, cyber, virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR).

To enhance the applicability of new technologies in the defense sector and their commercialization in civilian markets, a budget of 16.6 billion KRW has been allocated to 8 tasks aimed at securing track records through defense demonstrations. For large-scale projects in challenging and innovative advanced technology fields such as satellites and space launch vehicles, a total of 193 billion KRW will be invested in 9 tasks.

Additionally, to promote the commercialization (spin-off) of defense technologies, a one-stop support service providing online and offline consultations will be operated from this year by establishing an office within the Civil-Military Cooperation Promotion Agency. Institutional improvements such as strengthening the legal basis for priority purchasing to expand the utilization of civil-military technology cooperation project outcomes will also be pursued. New tasks for this year's project will be announced jointly by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and other related ministries in March.

Park Jaeyoung, Director of Manufacturing Industry Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "We will expand cooperation with military-related institutions to ensure that excellent new civilian technologies can be quickly applied to the defense sector, and actively support the development of innovative products utilizing defense technologies."

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