Government and Private Sector Unmanned Mobility Technologies Gather at COEX

Ministry of Science and ICT to Host 2024 Unmanned Mobility Industry Expo

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that, together with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Korea Aerospace Administration, and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, it will hold the '2024 Unmanned World Congress (UWC)' for three days from the 17th to the 19th at COEX in Seoul.

VIPs attending the opening ceremony of the '2024 Unmanned Mobility Industry Expo' held at COEX in Seoul on the 17th are touring the Navy Marine Corps exhibition booth. Photo by Ministry of Science and ICT

This event has been held annually since 2018 to respond to the rapidly growing unmanned mobility market, strengthen inter-ministerial cooperation, promote national research and development innovation achievements, transfer and commercialize core technologies, and activate industry-academia-research exchanges and cooperation.

This year, under the theme 'A New World Created by Unmanned Mobility,' researchers (universities and government-funded research institutes), companies, government, and visitors will share unmanned mobility technologies and industry trends and discuss the vision for the future of unmanned mobility.

At the venue, exhibition booths showcasing government R&D innovation achievements from the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of National Defense, the Korea Aerospace Administration, and booths from companies such as LIG Nex1 will be set up to provide an overview of the current status of Korea's unmanned mobility industry research and development.

Alongside the exhibition, the conference will discuss topics such as drone technology and roles in the Israel war, maritime unmanned mobility satellite navigation, and urban air mobility (UAM) demand forecasting and implications in Korea. Various side events and experience programs related to unmanned mobility, including the 'AI & Unmanned Mobility Future Hackathon' for elementary, middle, high school students and the general public, will also be held.

In his opening remarks, Lee Chang-yoon, 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, emphasized, “Recently, drones have emerged as an important means of security, and with air taxis (UAM) conducting demonstration flights at the Paris Olympics, unmanned mobility is important as a future industry.” He added, “Going forward, the government will support research and development and commercialization through collaboration among related ministries to secure a leading position in the global unmanned mobility new market.”