105 Defense SMEs from Daejeon and Chungcheong Regions Join
Daejeon Emerges as a Key Hub for the Defense Industry
On January 21, Daejeon City held the launch ceremony for the "Daejeon Defense Industry Cooperative Association," the nation’s first collaborative community for small and medium-sized defense companies, marking the official start of its activities.
With the launch event held at Hotel ICC, the city has reached a turning point to become a key hub city leading the future of South Korea's defense industry.
About 170 people attended the event, including representatives from defense-related industries, academia, research institutes, government, military, and participating member companies, to celebrate the cooperative’s establishment and share their commitment to collaboration for the development of the regional defense industry.
The cooperative is the first specialized defense cooperative in Korea, comprised of 105 small and medium-sized defense companies headquartered in Daejeon and the Chungcheong region. It plans to build collaborative models in various areas such as joint production, joint development, participation in government projects, public procurement, and export support, overcoming the limitations of individual companies.
Daejeon City expects that the launch of this cooperative will strengthen solidarity and collaboration among local small and medium-sized defense companies and further systematize the defense industry ecosystem centered around Daejeon.
In particular, by jointly tackling challenges that are difficult for individual companies to address alone-such as technology development, market exploration, and policy response-the foundation will be laid for enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises and establishing sustainable growth in the defense industry.
Alongside the launch ceremony, a mutual cooperation agreement was signed to foster and advance the high-tech defense industry. Twelve organizations participated, including Daejeon City, KAIST, Chungnam National University, Hanbat National University, Daejeon University, Hannam University, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Army Education and Training Command, Army Logistics Command, and the Daejeon Defense Industry Cooperative Association.
This agreement aims to establish a practical collaborative ecosystem in the defense industry-a core strategic sector for Daejeon City-by organically connecting industry, academia, research institutes, government, and the military. The goal is to create synergy in the high-tech defense sector by linking each institution’s research capabilities, infrastructure, and field experience.
The participating organizations agreed to: ▲ provide institutional and administrative support to activate cooperation among industry, academia, research, government, and the military in the high-tech defense industry; ▲ collaborate in research, education, and talent development focused on advanced technologies such as defense artificial intelligence transformation (AX), artificial intelligence (AI), and data; ▲ exchange core technologies including defense AI, data utilization, and digital transformation (DX); ▲ foster logistics innovation and train specialized personnel for defense drones based on AI and DX; and ▲ mutually cooperate in discovering, validating, and commercializing technology cooperation projects connecting the military, education, and industry fields.
Lee Jangwoo, Mayor of Daejeon, stated, "The launch of the Daejeon Defense Industry Cooperative Association is a significant turning point for local small and medium-sized defense companies to enhance their research and development capabilities and establish a stable business foundation through collaboration. We expect this will greatly contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of K-Defense in line with Daejeon City's ongoing defense industry development strategy."
He added, "Daejeon City will continue to strengthen policy and institutional support, as well as cooperation among industry, academia, research institutes, and the military, to ensure that the cooperative and other defense companies can grow stably and achieve global competitiveness."
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