Gwangju Nam-gu Deploys Drones to Prevent River Pollution and Wildfires

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, is launching a program to train public sector drone specialists for public officials within the district office to enhance administrative efficiency using drones for land surveying and monitoring illegal wastewater discharge, as well as to accumulate data in the public sector.

Additionally, to cultivate specialists in the private sector, from the second half of the year, they plan to conduct commissioned training for local farmers to obtain drone certification.

On the 7th, Nam-gu stated, “In line with the industrial growth in drone utilization services, we will carry out a public sector drone specialist training project from this month until November to nurture experts in various fields,” adding, “We will actively promote drone utilization projects in the public sector such as disaster response, environment, and infrastructure management.”

To this end, in March, Nam-gu recruited candidates for education among public officials in various departments within the district office who can actively use drones in their work and selected four individuals.

The tasks these trainees will undertake include cadastral surveying, which involves conflicts between owners due to land boundary issues, field surveys related to farmland register conversion, monitoring pollution activities such as illegal wastewater discharge and river patrols, as well as forest damage monitoring, pest surveillance, and wildfire prevention.

They are scheduled to receive 60 hours of mandatory training, including theory, simulated flights, and practical flights on weekends until November at a specialized drone education institution.

Nam-gu plans to promote the specialist training project annually to revitalize the drone industry and efficiently carry out administrative tasks, and also intends to expand the use of drones in the public sector, including cultural heritage management and facility inspection and maintenance.

Furthermore, to cultivate drone specialists in the agricultural sector where drone use and demand are high in the private sector, from the second half of the year, they will select 10 local farmers and support up to 2 million KRW per person for training costs. In agriculture, drones play a significant role in addressing the shortage of rural labor and improving farm productivity.

In addition, as part of fostering and revitalizing the drone industry, Nam-gu plans to hold weekend experience classes for residents using the drone flight field on the campus of Sungui Science and Technology High School and a specialized drone education institution, following business consultations conducted in January.

A Nam-gu official said, “The drone industry is a field that integrates innovative technologies of the 4th industrial revolution such as aviation, information and communication, and software, and it is a high-potential new growth industry,” adding, “We will do our best to nurture specialists in both the public and private sectors to establish a drone industry foundation in the region.”