Province, Defense Acquisition Program Administration meet with city and county officials to explore administrative and fiscal support for small defense firms
South Chungcheong Province has joined forces with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and local city and county officials to lower barriers preventing small and medium-sized enterprises from entering the defense industry.
The province held the "2026 Defense Industry SME Support Forum for City and County Officials" on Friday at the Gyeryong Defense Industry Research Institute, bringing together 18 participants — including officials from the province's southern branch office, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the South Chungcheong Defense Venture Center, and defense affairs officers from local municipalities.
The forum aimed to help small and medium-sized enterprises in the province break into the defense sector and to strengthen cooperation among related agencies.
Participants discussed practical support measures to help technology-strong small and medium-sized enterprises enter the defense sector — a field with notoriously high barriers to entry — in line with the growing global standing of K-defense and the push to advance defense industry technology.
Key agenda items included guidance on defense industry development initiatives and small and medium-sized enterprise support projects, an introduction to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration's support policies and systems for defense-sector small and medium-sized enterprises and venture firms, and an overview of the South Chungcheong Defense Venture Center's technology and management consulting sessions and support programs for partner companies.
Participants broadly agreed that the strict quality standards and complex procedures inherent to the defense industry make it extremely difficult for ordinary companies to enter the sector on their own.
To address this, they reached a consensus that the province, city and county governments, the South Chungcheong Defense Venture Center and other related agencies must work in close coordination to strengthen tailored information sessions and on-site guidance for businesses.
The province has already recorded notable results in nurturing defense-sector small and medium-sized enterprises. On May 14, it signed new "2026 Defense Venture Enterprise Support Agreements" with 40 companies, expanding the total number of firms receiving provincial support to 120.
From 2020 through 2025, 32 companies in the province were selected for defense-related central government and military research and development projects, securing a combined 104.6 billion won ($67.7 million) in national funding.
Over the same period, the province channeled 1.8 billion won to 32 companies through a local government development cost support project run by the South Chungcheong Defense Venture Center, playing a meaningful role in seeding the growth of regional defense firms.
The province plans to continue holding regular forums and company briefings to hear directly from the field, and to develop and pursue effective policies targeting firms seeking to enter the defense industry.
"The defense industry is a new engine of future growth for South Chungcheong and a core sector that will drive the regional economy," said Myeong No-cheong, head of the province's southern branch office. "We will build a seamless support system so that small and medium-sized enterprises in the province can open new markets in the defense sector and sharpen their competitiveness."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
