S. Korea to invest 206 bln won in civil-military partnership

SEOUL, March 18 (Yonhap) — South Korea said Thursday it plans to inject 206 billion won (US$182 million) this year to bolster the civil-military ties, carrying out more than 200 projects centering on harnessing state-of-the-art technologies.

The budget marked a 15 percent on-year increase from 178 billion won allocated last year, surpassing 200 billion won for the first time, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Of the budget, 164.3 billion won will be spent on carrying out joint projects among the military and private companies, while 32.5 billion won will be allocated in the transfer of technologies.

Under the plan, South Korea will launch projects seeking to apply augmented and virtual reality technologies in the maintenance of vessels, while developing training and education programs for soldiers as well.

The country will utilize 3-D printing technology to produce equipment and weapon parts needed in the military, and plans to set up guidelines and standards to reduce the defect rate.

Around 22.6 billion won will be spent on so-called fast-track projects, which refers to programs that can potentially be utilized in a short-term period. The amount marks a fivefold growth from the previous year.

South Korea will also seek to build test beds for military robots and drones in the second half of 2021.

To induce more small and medium-sized firms to participate in the state-run military projects, South Korea plans to lower barriers by easing minimum financial capability requirements.