Daejeon City and Defense Acquisition Program Administration Prepare to Establish Dedicated Defense Semiconductor Organization... Join Hands to Secure Supply Chain

Cooperation for Stabilizing the Defense Semiconductor Supply Chain
Task Force to Be Established This Month for Dedicated Organization Setup

Daejeon City and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (hereinafter DAPA) are preparing to establish a dedicated organization for defense semiconductors.

On the 18th, Daejeon City announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with DAPA at Daejeon City Hall to promote the development of defense semiconductors and strengthen mutual cooperation.

According to the agreement, Daejeon City plans to expand large cleanrooms and public semiconductor production facilities (Fab) to support mass production of defense semiconductors, and aims to complete the defense semiconductor industry ecosystem by fostering specialized defense semiconductor design companies and materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) companies. The city will also broaden cooperation areas with DAPA.

In particular, the two organizations plan to establish a task force this month to set up a dedicated organization for defense semiconductors.

Um Dong-hwan, Administrator of DAPA, said, “The cooperation between the two organizations is meaningful as it publicly expresses the determination of the central and local governments to launch an all-out effort to promote the development of defense semiconductors, which form the foundation of ‘K-Defense Industry.’ DAPA plans to establish a dedicated organization responsible for managing defense semiconductor research and development projects in cooperation with Daejeon City, and will set up a task force this month to prepare for this.”

Lee Jang-woo, Mayor of Daejeon City, said, “Daejeon is considered the optimal location for defense semiconductor research and development, as it houses defense industry facilities such as the Agency for Defense Development and semiconductor infrastructure including the Korea Nano Technology Institute and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). We will spare no effort to support the development of innovative defense semiconductor technologies in Daejeon.”

Meanwhile, more than 98% of defense semiconductors are currently designed and produced overseas. This raises concerns that, like semiconductors, supply chain crises could pose serious threats to national security.

Considering the expected sharp increase in demand for defense semiconductors in the development and deployment of AI-equipped weapon systems such as manned-unmanned combined systems, Daejeon City diagnoses that the localization of defense semiconductors has become “not a choice but a necessity.”

Accordingly, Daejeon City and DAPA plan to establish a system for research, development, and testing evaluation of defense semiconductors based on close mutual cooperation, ensuring that the domestic defense semiconductor supply chain is stably secured.

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