Gov't to foster military-private sector tech cooperation

An illustration of drones. Korea Times file

By Lee Kyung-min

The government will invest 251 billion won ($208 million) to facilitate 250 state-run projects whereby integration of advanced technologies with military operations will enhance defense capabilities, the industry ministry said, Tuesday.

The measure to bolster private-military partnerships coincides with the heightened importance of strengthening technological prowess, brought on by the escalating conflict between the world's two largest economies.

Korea has long sought ways to identify a strategy to better limit and navigate external shocks triggered by IT disputes. This strategy has increasingly spilled over into defense, among other national security matters.

Fourteen government ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), said that they have allocated 251 billion won to advance 250 projects this year, up 19.2 percent from the previous year.

The projects ― including 47 new tasks ― are a continuation of previous initiatives, the first of which was launched in 1999 to contribute, not only to improving the performance of the defense capabilities, but also to identifying a growth driver for the economy in the private sector.

About 191.3 billion won will be spent for private-military technology developments and 48.4 billion won for technology sharing projects between the two.

Seven projects will be provided with financing in the amount of 37.7 billion won to develop technologies involving autonomous driving, robots, virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR).

About 16.6 billion won will be invested in eight projects to help build the track record needed to underscore stable demand for new technologies in the defense industry, to be expedited by the speedy commercialization of high-tech military equipment.

Nine tasks will be granted 193 billion won to advance satellites and space projectiles technologies, a highly challenging initiative requiring intense, innovative efforts.

The government will run an office under the Institute of Civil-Military Technology Cooperation (ICMTC), a DAPA-supervised organization, this year, to promote defense technologies and state-run projects better.

The list of this year's projects will be available on the ICMTC website later this month.

“Strengthened cooperation between the military and the private sector will help accelerate the development of new technologies that will be applied to increase the competitiveness of the country's defense system,” the ministry said.