Gumi City to Detail Vision for K-Defense and Metaverse Cultural Hub in the US

Visit to the World's Largest Defense Exhibition (AUSA 2024)

AI and Metaverse Company Support Agreement, Leap Toward a Cultural Hub

A delegation of seven representatives from Gumi City, led by Mayor Kim Jangho, will visit the United States from October 12 to 20 for a six-night, nine-day schedule.

This visit has been arranged to concretize Gumi City's vision of becoming the capital of the K-Defense new industry and a hub for metaverse cultural content.

The delegation's itinerary includes attending the U.S. Army exhibition (AUSA 2024) in Washington, D.C., visiting Cummings Research Park in Huntsville, signing an international MOU for AI and metaverse industry development with Newport Beach, and operating a joint promotional booth for Gyeongbuk Province and Gumi City at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Through these activities, the delegation will explore strategies for advancing Gumi's defense industry and enhancing its cultural content sector.

On the 14th, the delegation will attend the U.S. Army exhibition (AUSA 2024), the world's largest defense industry exhibition hosted by the Association of the United States Army. The event features participation from over 750 companies and representatives from more than 90 countries in the defense sectors of space, aviation, security, and more, attracting over 40,000 visitors. The delegation will review global defense market trends, the latest technologies and equipment, and battlefield network systems, utilizing this knowledge to promote advanced defense industries and foster defense companies in Gumi.

In particular, the delegation will meet with Choi Byungro, Executive Vice President of the Korea Defense Industry Association, who oversees the Korean SME Pavilion, to promote Gumi's investment environment and defense innovation cluster, and discuss strategies for Gumi companies to enter the global defense market.

On the 15th, the delegation will visit Huntsville, known as the "Rocket City" and a hub for defense and space industries, to discuss defense industry cooperation with the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce. They will also tour Cummings Research Park, the largest research complex in the U.S. for defense, aerospace, space, and advanced manufacturing, and consider strategies for building an ecosystem for the sustainable growth of Gumi's defense industry. On the 16th, they will visit local companies to promote Gumi's investment environment and business support policies and engage in networking.

On the 17th, the delegation will move to California to sign an MOU for supporting AI and metaverse companies with Gyeongbuk Province, global venture capital firms, and augmented reality (AR) platform companies. They will also visit Blizzard, a world-renowned game developer, to learn about trends in the application of metaverse technology in gaming. At the Newport Beach Film Festival, they will jointly operate a promotional booth with Gyeongbuk Province and Gumi City, seeking ways to advance Gumi's AI and metaverse film festivals.

Gumi City, the second-largest city in Korea in terms of defense industry sales, has established itself as the "capital of the K-Defense new industry" through technology development and commercialization linked to the five major new defense industries since being designated as a defense innovation cluster last year. At the same time, Gumi is collaborating with Gyeongbuk Province to become the "K-Metaverse Central City" and plans to benchmark ways in which innovations in metaverse and AI technologies can revitalize the local economy through its visit to Newport Beach.

The five major new defense industries are space, artificial intelligence (AI), unmanned and manned complex systems (drones), semiconductors, and robotics.

Mayor Kim Jangho stated, "This visit to the United States will serve as an opportunity for Gumi City to take another leap forward in the defense and metaverse industries," adding, "We will strengthen our competitiveness in the global market and contribute to revitalizing the local economy."