Namwon-si Selected as 'Drone Special Free Zone' by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Namwon City in Jeollabuk-do announced on the 30th that it has been selected as the first in the province for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s “Drone Special Free Zone Designation” contest project.

The Drone Special Free Zone exempts or relaxes various regulations such as special airworthiness certification that pre-verifies drone airframe safety, safety certification, and pre-flight approval applied during drone flights.

Jeonbuk Namwon-si has been selected as the first in the province for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 'Drone Special Free Zone Designation' contest project.
[Photo by Namwon-si]

The city expects to establish a foundation for fostering the drone industry, including attracting drone-related educational and research institutions and companies, through this contest project selection linked with the drone demonstration city construction project selected in March.

Starting next month, drone applications in control, forestry, agriculture, and tourism will be demonstrated in the Unbong-eup area of Namwon City.

It is also expected to contribute to the activation of the drone industry in various fields such as multi-drone real-time control and management, demonstration of identification devices and identification systems, forest surveillance and control, and development of landslide prediction and detection models.

Previously, to designate the drone special free zone, the city signed a business agreement in November last year with 15 institutions and companies including Woosuk University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Seowoo Co., Ltd., and Pal Networks, and has been continuously consulting with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of National Defense regarding airspace. After the announcement evaluation in April this year, it was finally selected.

Going forward, the city plans to hold practical consultations with participating institutions and companies regarding the drone special free zone, conclude operational business agreements, and continuously consult with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Aviation Safety Technology Institute to ensure thorough safety management.

Mayor Choi Kyung-sik said, “The designation of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Drone Special Free Zone, which allows drone companies to freely demonstrate through regulatory reform, lays the foundation for the development of Namwon City’s drone industry,” adding, “We will continue to communicate with the government and private sectors to actively attract related institutions and companies and strive to establish the city as a hub for the drone industry.”

Meanwhile, the city plans to create an aviation industry cluster by linking with the LX Drone Utilization Center, building an integrated drone control center, attracting the Korea Aviation Safety Technology Institute, and establishing a drone demonstration complex. It also plans to successfully host the FAI 2023 World Drone Racing Championship international competition in October to build a drone business model and focus on establishing a multipurpose drone utilization center and the Namwon Drone Culture Experience Center.

Namwon = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jeong Young-kwon baekok@asiae.co.kr

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