Establishment of Goheung Drone Center for Building Goheung County as a Drone Hub City

Goheung-gun Draws Future Blueprint for Drone Industry

Jeollanam-do and Daewoo Construction Co., Ltd. Sign Business Agreement in UAM (Urban Air Mobility) New Business Sector

[Goheung=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shim Jeong-woo] Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Gong Young-min) announced on the 5th that it held the opening ceremony of the Goheung Drone Center and signed a business agreement in the new UAM (Urban Air Mobility) business field with Jeollanam-do and Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd.

About 100 people attended the event, including Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeollanam-do, Kim Seung-nam, Member of the National Assembly, Gong Young-min, Goheung-gun Governor, Lee Jae-hak, Chairman of Goheung County Council, local district provincial and county council members, Kim Hwa-jin, Chairman of the People Power Party Jeonnam Provincial Party, Lee Hyun-jo, Head of Gwangju Jeonnam Regional Small and Medium Venture Business Administration, Baek Jeong-wan, CEO of Daewoo Engineering & Construction, Oh Ik-hyun, Director of Jeonnam Technopark, and officials from tenant companies of the Drone Center, celebrating the opening of the Goheung Drone Center and drawing a blueprint for the development of the Goheung drone industry.

Gong Young-min, Goheung-gun Governor, said, "The Goheung Drone Center, which will play a pivotal role in Korea's drone industry, has held its opening ceremony after long preparations," and added, "We will do our best to create a foundation for mutual growth between Goheung-gun and tenant companies."

The Goheung Drone Center was completed in August last year with a total project cost of 19.8 billion KRW invested by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Jeollanam-do, and Goheung-gun. It is a four-story building with an area of 9,246㎡, consisting of 22 tenant rooms, startup support spaces, dormitories, and a drone exhibition and experience hall. Currently, 15 institutions and companies are tenants, and it is entrusted and operated by Jeonnam Technopark.

Going forward, Goheung-gun plans to build the Goheung Drone Center as a hub leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution era by supporting and fostering drone companies' technology development, demonstration, consulting, and education in connection with excellent drone industry infrastructure such as the nation's largest flight test airspace, national comprehensive flight test performance center, drone commercialization demonstration support center, and unmanned aerial agricultural technology specialized agro-industrial complex.

At the opening ceremony, Goheung-gun promised through a business agreement with Jeollanam-do and Daewoo Engineering & Construction in the UAM (Urban Air Mobility) industry to jointly promote the development and analysis of UAM aircraft and routes, construction of special-purpose UAM infrastructure for island region transportation, and regional hub UAM smart city projects for the development and demonstration of future air transportation.

Goheung-gun has been designated as the first phase test demonstration site (K-UAM CG-1 phase) for the commercialization of urban air mobility in Korea and plans to continuously cooperate with Jeollanam-do to build a UAM industry cluster and discover service models in new urban air mobility business fields suitable for regional characteristics.

Additionally, to enhance the image of "Drone-Centered City, Goheung," starting next year, Goheung plans to firmly secure the domestic drone market by hosting the Goheung Drone Expo and Drone Light Show and establishing a drone specialized school.

Goheung=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shim Jeong-woo hss79@asiae.co.kr