Gwangju City Recruiting Companies for 'Disaster Safety New Technology Contest'

Until June 18...
Fields Include Daily Safety, Disaster Prevention, and Firefighting

Disaster Safety Industry New Technology Contest Poster. Provided by Gwangju City

The city of Gwangju announced on the 15th that it is recruiting companies possessing new technologies in the field of safety, including natural and social disasters, until June 18, ahead of the "Disaster Safety Industry New Technology Contest" scheduled for July.

The Disaster Safety Industry New Technology Contest has been held since 2019 to discover and foster Gwangju-based companies and prospective entrepreneurs with new technologies in the disaster safety industry sector. So far, 185 entries have been received through open calls for new technologies in the overall disaster safety industry, including daily safety, disaster prevention, and firefighting, with 55 selected as outstanding technologies. Notably, seven of these have been linked to national government-funded planning projects, contributing to the development of the local disaster safety industry.

Eligible participants include Gwangju-based companies, prospective entrepreneurs, research institutions, universities, or individuals who have developed new technologies for the first time in Korea or have innovatively improved existing technologies related to disaster safety industries such as natural and social disaster prevention, disaster response and recovery projects, and disaster-related service industries.

Applications can be submitted online through the Gwangju city website's "Baro Reservation" or by registered mail. Submitted proposals will undergo a first-round document review by a panel of disaster safety experts, followed by a second-round presentation and Q&A session to select the winners.

Winners will receive a commendation from the Mayor of Gwangju and a total of 6 million won in prize money, distributed as follows: 3 million won for the grand prize (1 team), 2 million won for the excellence award (1 team), and 1 million won for the encouragement award (1 team).

The city will provide commercialization opportunities such as exhibition booths and product demonstrations at the "2025 Korea Safety Industry Expo" hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in September, should the contest winners wish to participate. For more details, please refer to the notices and announcements on the Gwangju city website.

Bae Bokhwan, Director of the Citizen Safety Office, said, "We look forward to the active participation of companies and prospective entrepreneurs with new technologies to strengthen the competitiveness of Gwangju's disaster safety industry," adding, "We will spare no administrative support to help the winners commercialize their new technologies."