Goheung-gun Focuses Administrative Efforts on Building a Drone-Centered City

Establishing the Future Drone Industry Ecosystem, Securing Leadership in Drone Demonstration Sector

[Goheung=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shim Jeong-woo] Jeonnam Goheung-gun (Governor Gong Young-min) announced on the 6th that it will focus its administrative power this year to solidify its position as a central city in the future core strategic industry, the drone industry.

So far, Goheung-gun has been steadily building an ecosystem to foster the drone industry.

Goheung is the optimal region for demonstrating drone and urban air mobility technologies, as it has the largest drone airspace in the country, along with drone-related infrastructure such as ▲Goheung Aviation Center ▲National Comprehensive Flight Performance Test Site ▲Goheung Drone Center ▲Korean Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) Grand Challenge Testbed ▲Special Drone Free Zone, all of which are the best equipped in Korea.

In particular, Goheung-gun was uniquely designated in Korea as the first-phase test demonstration site for the commercialization of urban air mobility in December 2022. With an investment of 11.3 billion KRW, UAM demonstration facilities and equipment will be established by the first half of the year, and from August, large corporations such as SKT, Hyundai Motor Company, and Lotte will conduct the first-ever UAM technology demonstrations in Goheung.

Additionally, to build unrivaled drone demonstration infrastructure, projects such as ▲5G-based drone-utilized smart farming demonstration expansion ▲Development of core technologies and test evaluation for autonomous flight of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (e-VTOL) are currently underway. Cooperation with specialized institutions is also ongoing to attract projects like ▲drone demonstration city construction ▲establishment of an integrated monitoring demonstration base for the southern coastal region using drones.

Furthermore, Goheung is initiating the unmanned aerial agricultural technology specialized agro-industrial complex and drone experience playground projects, targeted for completion in 2025. Customized support programs to strengthen the capabilities of resident companies within the Goheung Drone Center will also be operated to attract stable and competent drone-related companies and contribute to the creation of high-quality local jobs.

For the cultivation of drone specialists, the establishment of a drone department at Suncheon National University’s Goheung Industry-Academia Cooperation Campus is being promoted, and the Drone Academy for national certification and aerial photography expert training will continue to operate.

Moreover, from May to October this year, the county will hold a drone show featuring 500 drones every Saturday around Nokdong Port, and in September, it will host the first Drone Expo at Goheung Aviation Center, the first of its kind among local governments nationwide, to promote ‘Drone-Centered City Goheung’ across the country and firmly secure the domestic drone market.

Gong Young-min, Governor of Goheung-gun, said, “The drone industry is a future promising industry with infinite development potential,” and added, “We will spare no administrative support and effort to ensure that the drone industry plays a pivotal role in achieving the leap to a population of 100,000 in Goheung.”

In early January, Goheung-gun carried out the first organizational restructuring of the 8th elected term, establishing the ‘Aerospace Promotion Division’ and officially embarking on fostering the aerospace industry as a new growth industry for Goheung-gun.

Goheung=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shim Jeong-woo hss79@asiae.co.kr

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