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Naver Cloud joins forces with Korea University to pursue major defense AI projects
Kang Seok-joong, a professor at Korea University's Graduate School of Management of Technology, left, and Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won, hold their signed agreement on defense artificial intelligence cooperation in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Naver Cloud
By Lee Kyung-min
Naver Cloud is making an aggressive push into defense artificial intelligence (AI), announcing a partnership with Korea University to jointly pursue defense projects worth about 20 billion won ($13.5 million) and develop AI technologies for the military's next generation of command-and-control systems.
The company said Tuesday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea University's C5ISRT Convergence Research Center following the agreement reached Monday to expand industry-academia cooperation in defense C5ISRT, which integrates command, control, communication, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting.
Naver Cloud said the partnership combines its AI and cloud computing capabilities with the research center's nearly 40 years of expertise in defense technology management.
The research center is led by Kang Seok-joong, a professor at Korea University's Graduate School of Management of Technology and a longtime researcher in defense acquisition, command-and-control systems and national defense policy.
The two sides said they will jointly participate in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Industry-Academia-Military Cooperation Center, one of five defense AI transformation hubs planned by the Ministry of National Defense.
They also said they will conduct joint research on hyperscale AI-based command-and-control technologies and begin advance research and development for the Korea Joint Command and Control System project scheduled for 2027.
The collaboration will also cover research on a common defense platform and joint education programs to cultivate specialists for the defense industry.
Naver Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won said close cooperation among the military, academia and industry is essential to advancing defense technology.
He said the partnership will expand the company's participation in key defense programs and help strengthen Korea's competitiveness in defense AI.
Kang said future battlefields are rapidly evolving toward AI- and data-driven C5ISRT systems.
He added that the collaboration will create a leading industry-academia model spanning research, demonstration, commercialization and workforce development for Korea's defense AI ecosystem.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.