The Military Also Takes on 'Regulatory Innovation'... Expansion of Sandbox Introduction

Ministry of Industry Signs 'Regulatory Innovation MOU' with Army
Expansion of Sandbox Introduction in Military Supply Fields Including Robots

Army 1st Division Battalion Integrated Shooting Training
(Paju=Yonhap News) Reporter Lim Byung-sik = On August 24, a soldier is conducting 4.2-inch mortar firing training at the Army 1st Division Battalion Integrated Shooting Training held at the Kal Shooting Range in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. 2022.8.24
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[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) has joined hands with the Army to promote regulatory innovation. MOTIE plans to actively collaborate with the Army to gradually expand the introduction of innovative products in the military supply sector. This is seen as a significant expansion of the application of innovative products, which was originally limited to the civilian sector, into the military supply field.

On the morning of the 14th, MOTIE announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for “Demonstration Cooperation on Regulatory Sandbox in the Military Supply Sector” at the Maintenance Battalion of the 28th Army Division located in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province. The regulatory sandbox is a system that temporarily exempts or defers regulations under certain conditions when products or services developed with new technologies cannot be launched under current laws. At the signing ceremony, Hwang Soo-sung, Director of Industrial Innovation Growth Office at MOTIE, said, “The government is promoting comprehensive regulatory innovation to support private-led growth and stimulate corporate innovation,” adding, “This agreement is meaningful as it provides companies with large-scale demonstration opportunities and creates a chance to strengthen national defense capabilities.”

Through this agreement, MOTIE and the Army will expand the regulatory sandbox to the military supply sector. Previously, the regulatory sandbox was operated only in the civilian sector. From the companies’ perspective, this means a significant increase in testbeds where innovative products can be demonstrated.

MOTIE also expects that this agreement with the Army will help secure demand channels for innovative products and further strengthen the military support system. A MOTIE official explained, “The government’s administrative and financial support combined with the Army’s resources and infrastructure such as facilities and sites will create a synergy effect,” and added, “We plan to provide a testbed where the safety, technology, and economic feasibility of innovative products can be verified on a large scale.”

Newbility Demonstrates Autonomous Delivery Robot 'Newbee' Service at the National Assembly
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Jeong Il-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (right), Lee Kwang-jae, Secretary General of the National Assembly (second from right), and other officials observe Newbility's autonomous delivery robot 'Newbee' service demonstration inside the National Assembly. August 25, 2022 [Provided by Newbility. Redistribution and DB reproduction prohibited]
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The Army plans to gradually expand regulatory sandbox products in various fields such as robots and autonomous vehicles. For example, autonomous robots can be used for patrol duties in military border areas and for supply distribution within military bases. In the case of non-face-to-face medical treatment, it can be applied to field units with low accessibility to civilian medical services.

MOTIE and the Army plan to intensify their collaboration for regulatory innovation starting from the fourth quarter of this year. Both parties will first form a working-level consultative body to implement the MOU and identify suitable fields and items for demonstration in the military. Subsequently, they will support the process for demonstration projects, including recruiting businesses, developing business models, and reviewing and approving by the Regulatory Special Cases Deliberation Committee within the year.

Meanwhile, a demonstration of a plasma food waste processor was held at the signing ceremony. The plasma food waste processor is a regulatory sandbox product jointly discovered by MOTIE and the Army and introduced to the Maintenance Battalion of the 28th Division in April. It is the first case of demonstrating a regulatory sandbox product on a military site. This device treats food waste by high-temperature thermal treatment and carbonization drying to remove odors and bacteria, then reprocesses it to manufacture solid fuel. It was developed by Bitsronex Tech, a domestic small and medium-sized enterprise.

Director Hwang said, “We will closely cooperate with the military to discover business models in convergent new technology fields where civilian and military sectors can collaborate, such as unmanned drones, autonomous robots, and civilian satellites,” and added, “We will actively support companies so that they can experience rapid regulatory innovation.”

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