[Edaily Marketin Soyoung Park Reporter] "Now is the perfect time to revitalize the domestic defense tech ecosystem"

Startup leaders driving the domestic defense industry ecosystem gathered on the 6th and emphasized the need to seize the moment. Following the war in Ukraine, a trend has spread in which private startups and builders are rapidly solving battlefield challenges in fields such as drones, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity, leading to growing calls to cultivate a defense tech ecosystem in Korea as well.

However, they viewed the key as not simply identifying ideas, but rather resolving manufacturing bottlenecks. They explained that securing dominant technologies is only possible if backed by the production capacity to rapidly mass-produce technologies and deploy them on the battlefield. Attention is now focused on whether a private-sector-led defense tech ecosystem can establish itself as a new growth engine for the Korean defense industry.

Startups Usher in the Second Act of the Korean Defense Industry… “Now Is the Perfect Time”

The event took place ahead of a hackathon organized by the private-sector-led defense tech community “D4D.” In addition to the event’s host, EGCED, next-generation leaders driving the domestic defense industry—including △BonAI △StealthMole △F4GE △Morph Systems △Prairie Schooner—gathered in one place. They conveyed the message that the domestic defense tech ecosystem must be expanded with a focus on the private sector and startups.

Lee Do-kyung, CEO of BonAI, emphasized, “I recently attended the National Strategy Meeting on Fostering Future New Security Innovation Companies and proposed that ‘security and industry are not separate domains but rather organically integrated national competitiveness and assets, and this must be realized through the birth of a new sovereign physical AI.’ He added, “The task of transplanting this sovereign AI ecosystem into the global market is the ‘mission of our time’ that we now bear.”

The speakers that day all agreed that the ultimate goal of South Korea’s defense industry is to secure “hegemonic technology.” They also concurred that the key ultimately lies in manufacturing capabilities. The point is that even with technological ideas, it is difficult to secure a meaningful advantage in actual combat if they cannot be rapidly mass-produced and deployed in the field.

Kwon Hyuk-hyun, CEO of Poji, stated, “Since the start of the war in Ukraine, battlefield demands have been accelerating the pace of technology development and application,” adding, “Both the U.S. and Europe are focusing on resolving manufacturing bottlenecks.” CEO Kwon believes that South Korea, with its established manufacturing base in sectors such as automotive and shipbuilding, can secure sufficient competitiveness in the defense tech sector. He explained that since the manufacturing processes themselves are similar, the production capabilities of existing industries can be expanded into the defense and security sectors.

Kwon noted, “However, real-world application is crucial,” adding, “Since opponents on the battlefield quickly roll out countermeasures, we cannot simply manufacture a product once and be done with it; we must continuously monitor and improve it.”

Park Min-kyu, CEO of Morph Systems, also noted that the ultimate bottleneck lies in the supply chain. He shared his thoughts, saying, “Quantity equals quality, so we need bold research and development (R&D) that secures hundreds of drones and computing power to produce results by any means necessary,” and added, “AI can be described as a war for talent; in this context, it is most important to directly adopt the technology stacks used on the battlefield so that domestic engineers can get a feel for them.”

DefenseTech Experimentation Hub Held in Seoul… 47 Solutions Unveiled

Starting on the second day of the event, the DefenseTech Hackathon organized by D4D took place over two days, from July 4 to 5. The event was attended not only by defense sector professionals but also by stakeholders from various fields, including AI developers, software engineers, designers, product planners, researchers, and entrepreneurs. They freely formed teams to build solutions that address challenges in the defense and security sectors through technology.

This hackathon was designed to launch the culture of the DefenseTech startup and builder ecosystem—which is growing primarily in the U.S. and Europe—in Seoul and expand it across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Prior to the hackathon, Choi Kang-geun, CEO of Exceed Tech, encouraged participants, stating, “An opportunity has opened up to create new growth engines in the defense and security sectors based on technological advancements,” and added, “I hope participants gain the confidence to create something that directly solves real-world problems.”

A total of 350 people attended the three-day event. Of these, approximately 150 participated in the hackathon and submitted 47 solutions. As a result, a total of eight teams won awards across five tracks. The winning teams were: △Track 1 (Autonomous, Unmanned & Anti-Drone): “Team Bone” △ Track 2: OSINT & Defense Intelligence – “DoS (Defense OSINT Security)” and “ANGAE” △ Track 3: Battlefield Networks & C2 – “DELPHI” △ Track 4: Maritime Domain Awareness – “SEASIDE” △ Track 5: Combat Readiness & Training – “Nyx.”

In addition, “Supporty” and “Kestrel” were selected as teams to participate in the Oregon UAS Accelerator (AC) program. They will have the opportunity to participate in the Oregon UAS AC’s acceleration program and undergo interviews.