South Korea's Ministry of National Defense held its Defense Data and Artificial Intelligence Committee meeting on Monday to discuss plans for defense data utilization and building a military-civilian AI cooperation ecosystem.
The ministry plans to establish "Military-Industry-Academia Cooperation Centers" to jointly develop AI technology projects required by the armed forces.
The centers will serve as spaces where civilian and military sectors share and utilize the latest AI technologies. Five locations have been selected considering each branch's characteristics and accessibility: Yongsan in Seoul (Joint Chiefs of Staff), Yangjae (Air Force), Pangyo and Daejeon (Army), and Busan (Navy and Marine Corps).
Each center will establish "Safe Zones" for secure joint military-civilian use of defense data and provide practical AI development and training environments, including installation of the latest GPU servers.
Additionally, universities with regional expertise will be designated as lead institutions for each of the five centers. Companies and research institutes will participate as joint R&D partners, forming small research groups with respective military branches, universities, local governments, and businesses.
"Improving civilian access to defense data is essential for rapidly applying advanced civilian AI technologies to the defense sector," Vice Minister Lee Doo-hee said. "We will continue strengthening the ecosystem for ongoing military-civilian collaboration."
