Daejeon City Establishes Drone-Specialized 'Defense Industry Ecosystem'... "Becoming a Hub for Defense Innovation"

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Daejeon City is set to create a drone-specialized defense industry ecosystem. The city's blueprint aims to establish Daejeon as a hub for new defense industries.

On the 14th, the city announced that Daejeon was finally selected in the ‘2022 Defense Industry Innovation Cluster Project’ recently conducted by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

Based on the selection results, the city plans to invest a project budget of 49 billion KRW, including 24.5 billion KRW each from national and city funds, to build a ‘drone-specialized defense innovation growth ecosystem’ based on the drone industry, supporting the capabilities of small and venture companies in the defense sector.

In particular, a comprehensive support center will be established in the Daedeok Industrial Complex to provide facilities and equipment necessary for companies’ research, testing, demonstration, and commercialization, while fostering excellent local talent and assisting defense startups and civilian companies’ entry into the defense industry.

The city expects that through this project, it will support 100 small and medium defense companies over the next five years, generating 200 billion KRW in increased sales and creating over 1,200 local jobs, thereby revitalizing the regional economy.

Previously, Daejeon was recognized in the competition for its strength in having over 40 government-funded research institutes, defense large corporations’ research centers, and KAIST concentrated in the Daedeok Research and Development Special Zone.

Additionally, the presence of seven drone finished product companies (30% nationwide) located in the region, and Daejeon’s designation as a drone special deregulation zone securing the widest and longest airspace in the country, contributed to the evaluation that the drone industry-related infrastructure is relatively excellent.

The Defense Industry Innovation Cluster Project focuses on securing advanced technologies in preparation for changes in warfare due to the modernization of weapon systems, and achieving industrial agglomeration specialized in five new defense industries: space, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, drones, and robots.

Jung Jae-yong, Director of the Science and Industry Bureau of the city, said, “The city will strive to build an advanced defense industry ecosystem in Daejeon, taking the selection for the Defense Industry Innovation Cluster Project as an opportunity.”

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