Gongju City Selected for Drone Delivery for 3 Consecutive Years... Expands Wildfire Monitoring

Simultaneous Selection in Ministry of Land Drone Demonstration City Project... Secures 340 Million Won in Funding
Operates 200 Drone Deliveries of Local Specialties Annually, Strengthens Wildfire Monitoring with Thermal Imaging Drones

Gongju City, Chungnam Province, is accelerating the expansion of its drone-based administrative services after being selected for the K-Drone Delivery Commercialization Project for the third consecutive year in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's "Drone Demonstration City Development Project," and additionally securing the public service project for drone utilization (wildfire monitoring and surveillance).

On March 10, Gongju City announced that it had been selected for both the drone delivery and public service sectors in the "2026 Drone Demonstration City Development Project" competition hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

With this selection, the city has secured a total project budget of 340 million won: 110 million won for the K-Drone Delivery Commercialization Project and 230 million won for the drone utilization public service project.

Notably, only eight municipalities nationwide were selected for the drone utilization public service project.

The city plans to operate a local specialty delivery service for tourists and residents via drone delivery more than 200 times a year.

The service will be centered around three main hubs, including Sanseong Market and Sagok-myeon, and 15 delivery points. The city will also expand participating stores and enhance user convenience by integrating with the Whiparam delivery app.

Based on its accumulated operational experience and technological demonstration results, the city intends to continuously expand its drone delivery services and cooperate with local companies to foster the drone industry ecosystem.

In the public service sector, the city will strengthen its wildfire monitoring system using drones. Given that approximately 70% of the area is forest, drone surveillance will focus on vulnerable areas during the spring and autumn wildfire prevention periods.

Drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras will be used to detect early signs of fire and promptly relay information to relevant agencies to enhance response capabilities.

Mayor Choi Woncheol stated, "Being selected for this project will be a stepping stone for Gongju City to become a future-oriented drone city," adding, "We will further advance drone delivery by linking it to tourist attractions, traditional markets, and local festivals, and expand its use to public safety fields such as wildfire monitoring."

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