Korea’s First Direct Drone Planting Technology Opens a New Chapter in Future Forest Restoration in Yeongwol
On October 28, Yeongwol County in Gangwon Province held the nation’s first demonstration event for seedling planting using domestically developed drones at 1022 Yeongheung-ri, Yeongwol-eup. This event was part of the “2025 Drone Demonstration City Development Project” led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and was organized to verify the field applicability of a forest restoration model utilizing drone technology.
This project is an innovative initiative that aims to transform the forest restoration method by establishing a direct drone-based planting system using domestically produced drones. Moving away from the traditional labor-intensive planting approach, the goal is to create a more efficient and precise forest restoration system through drones. Yeongwol County has formed a consortium with Rotem and DRONEONE, receiving national funding to carry out the demonstration until November.
Rotem is working on developing core drone components such as motors, drivers, and propellers domestically to reduce reliance on overseas suppliers and to secure price competitiveness. DRONEONE is proceeding with the development of its proprietary DR-1S seedling shooter system.
During the demonstration, DRONEONE placed two-year-old seedlings into eco-friendly biodegradable cartridges made from next-generation biopolymer materials produced through microbial fermentation. These cartridges were loaded onto the domestically developed drone by Rotem, which then detected target locations from the air and precisely dropped and planted the seedlings.
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Choi Yeontae, CEO of DRONEONE, stated, “This demonstration project goes beyond simple technology verification and will serve as a historic starting point for a paradigm shift in Korea’s forestry industry. We will showcase the new possibilities of K-Drone technology leading the global market.” He added, “Yeongwol County highly values the fact that innovative forest restoration technology, harmonized with advanced technology, has borne its first fruit in the region. Based on this demonstration, we plan to develop Yeongwol into a hub for the green technology industry.”
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