South Korea's Ministry of National Defense will invest a total of 40 billion won ($29 million) in 20 defense projects aimed at rapidly adopting private-sector artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
The ministry on Tuesday announced new defense projects under its "AI Application Product Rapid Commercialization Support Program."
Through the program, the government will inject 40 billion won in project funds by the end of next year into 20 projects across four areas—combat support, manpower reduction, defense operations efficiency, and cyber and security—where AI integration is expected to deliver significant benefits and high military utility.
The ministry plans to finalize the organizations carrying out each project in June after evaluating business proposals, with the projects set to be completed by the end of next year.
Jeon Jun-beom, director general of the Defense AI Planning Bureau at the Ministry of National Defense, stressed, "We will continue to expand AI technologies that can be felt on the ground at military units, accelerating the construction of an AI-powered advanced military."
