Province signs agreement with DAPA, Nonsan on Tuesday; 49.9 billion won to be invested through 2031
South Chungcheong Province is picking up pace on its plan to build a defense innovation district in Nonsan to foster the AI defense robot industry.
The province held a signing ceremony Tuesday at the provincial government's situation room with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and Nonsan city to formalize the South Chungcheong-Nonsan Defense Innovation Cluster Development Project agreement.
About 20 officials from the province, DAPA, Nonsan city and the Agency for Defense Development attended the event, which proceeded with project and agreement briefings followed by the signing.
The agreement follows the province and Nonsan city being selected last month as final recipients of DAPA's 2026 Defense Innovation Cluster Development Project competition. The participating institutions used the agreement to formalize their respective roles and a cooperative framework for carrying out the project.
Under the agreement, the province, Nonsan city and DAPA will work closely together to build an AI defense robot industry ecosystem. That covers establishing defense-specialized research, testing and demonstration infrastructure; supporting the development and commercialization of new defense industry technologies; and supporting defense-sector startups and civilian companies seeking to enter the defense market.
The defense innovation cluster will be developed over five years from this year through 2031, centered on the Naedong and Yeonmu-eup areas of Nonsan city. Total project costs amount to 49.9 billion won ($33.2 million), comprising 24.5 billion won in national funding and 25.4 billion won in local government funding.
The core of the project is to build a defense industry innovation ecosystem specialized in AI defense robotics — a future strategic industry designated by the government — linking regional strategic industries with new defense industries to support the full cycle from technology development through testing, evaluation, demonstration and commercialization.
To that end, the province plans to establish a 45,190-square-meter demonstration and certification infrastructure within a 5-kilometer radius of Yeonmu-eup in Nonsan city, including a comprehensive support center (800 square meters), a demonstration support center (6,121 square meters) and a demonstration testing ground (38,269 square meters). A civilian-government-military cooperation framework will underpin a full-cycle support system for the AI defense robot industry.
The province is considered an optimal location for nurturing the AI defense robot industry. It is home to the country's only national defense industrial complex, the headquarters of all three military branches — Army, Navy and Air Force — and the Korea National Defense University, while also offering linkages with the province's key strategic industries such as mobility and semiconductors.
Building on the agreement, the province and Nonsan city plan to complete the formation of a project team and a detailed action plan in the second half of this year, then move into full-scale implementation of demonstration infrastructure construction and business support programs starting next year.
"This agreement is an important starting point for South Chungcheong Province to leap forward as a core hub of Korea's K-defense industry," said Hong Jong-wan, vice governor for administration of South Chungcheong Province. "We will do our utmost to complete a future-oriented defense industry ecosystem — linked with the national defense industrial complex and the Defense Future Technology Research Center — centered on the AI defense robot industry, so as to strengthen the competitiveness of regional defense companies and create quality jobs."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
