DAEJEON — Daejeon has been designated the city's first specialized industrial cluster for defense materials, parts and equipment.
The Daejeon Metropolitan Government said on the 18th that it was selected for the defense sector in an open competition for third-round specialized clusters for materials, parts and equipment run by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The cluster spans 8.03 million square meters, or 2.44 million pyeong, covering the Jukdong Industrial Complex, Daedeok Techno Valley, the Ansan Defense Industrial Complex, the Daejeon Defense Industry Innovation Support Center in Munpyeong-dong, Daedeok District, and the Hanwha Aerospace site. More than 40 billion won ($28.8 million) in state funding will be invested over the next five years.
The cluster will pursue domestic production of core components for advanced guided weapons, more than 90% of which are currently imported. The city plans to link research and development from the Daedeok Innovation Town to commercialization by local small and mid-sized companies, and to connect that work to the production systems of anchor firms including Hanwha Aerospace and LIG D&A, building a stable defense supply chain.
The city said it had built a close cooperation framework with local innovation institutions and defense companies, including Daejeon Technopark and the Daejeon Defense Industry Cooperative, and pooled the defense R&D capabilities of the Daedeok Innovation Town with corporate and industrial infrastructure to win the cluster designation.
Daejeon will treat the designation as a starting point for a new push and begin follow-up work in earnest. Based on a cooperation framework joining anchor firms and local small and mid-sized companies, the city plans to build a defense supply chain running from domestic production of core components through mass production, and to accelerate work on a defense AX cluster, a pledge of the ninth locally elected administration.
The city also plans to attract leading defense companies, encourage investment by local firms, and support entry into defense supply chains and technology commercialization, creating a virtuous cycle that leads to quality jobs and a stronger local economy.
"We will work closely with central government ministries to create future growth engines for Daejeon," Daejeon Mayor Huh Tae-jung said.
