Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

“Defense technical cooperation between civil and military is 'a new blue ocean'”
President Park Geun-hye made an opening speech for Civil-Military technical cooperation fair

On May 29, President Park Geun-hye said, “In these times in which advanced technology leads national competitiveness, the military field and the civil-military technical cooperation can be a new blue ocean.”

At the opening ceremony for the Civil-Military technical cooperation fair held at KINTEX, Ilsan, she said that we can create new values when superior technology in the field of national defense is applied to the civil industry, just like the Internet started from one of the Pentagon programs.

She also emphasized the government’s special attention and effort as well to maximize the synergy coming from technical convergence and cooperation between the civil sector and the military, saying that our civil-military technical cooperation can create a significant synergy effect since not only have we steadily accumulated advanced defense technology so far, but we also have high-quality civil science technological capabilities.

Mentioning a variety of efforts the government has made such as opening DTiMS, a webpage for defense technology trading, and some exemplary projects between the civil sector and the military such as AR Tech, Satrec Initiative, etc., President Park said, “We have to build up new growth engines that have never existed so far, with a spirit of creative challenge, innovative convergence and free imagination on a systematic foundation.”

She continued, “If technologies are independent of each other, they only make two by being combined; however, if they are converged and added with creativity and imagination, they can make a hundred or even a thousand. As a result of these efforts, the total value of orders we received for defense last year reached 34 billion dollars and reported a 70 percent increase year on year. Growth potential that the civil-military cooperation will bring is limitless.”

Additionally, “I certainly believe that many more jobs and added value will be created if the civil, military and government work closely together to make creative use of defense technology and its commercialization possible. Active engagement of medium- and small-size venture companies whose ideas are very creative will especially be a very important driving force for raising competitive power in the defense industry and the civil-military technical cooperation field as well as for creative economic stimulation,” said President Park.

She made a request for enhancing global competitiveness through an active spirit of innovation and creative challenge that break down all barriers and boundaries.

Meanwhile, the Civil-Military technical cooperation fair, co-sponsored by the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, is held to review the role of the civil-military technical cooperation for realizing creative economy with the national growth engine, and enhance economical and technical competitiveness of the entire nation such as export expansion and job creation by developing new products with defense technology transferred to the civil. The fair is held at KINTEX, Ilsan, for four days, from May 29 to June 1.

By Joo Hyeong, Lee < jataka@dema.mil.kr >