Busan City, Republic of Korea Navy, and DAPA to Lead the Artificial Intelligence Transformation (AX) in Marine and Naval Vessel Industries
HONG MOON HWA Senior Reporter
hgeranti@hanmail.net | 2026-11-06 09:25:44
Busan City, the ROK Navy, and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) sign a "Business Agreement to Establish an AI Transformation (AX) Cooperative System for Marine and Naval Vessel Industries" at 14:00 on November 6 at the headquarters of the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency... Held in conjunction with the opening ceremony of the hub and the vision declaration ceremony.
Cooperation to promote the AI transformation of marine and naval vessel industries, including building AI infrastructure, providing technical demonstration environments, supporting R&D, and advancing local defense industries.
Busan City expects that attracting major vessel-related defense companies and research institutes to the region and engaging in technological exchange and cooperation projects will foster a self-sustaining industrial ecosystem and expand win-win growth between large enterprises and SMEs.
Busan City (Mayor Jeon Jae-soo) announced that it will sign a "Business Agreement to Establish an AI Transformation (AX) Cooperative System for Marine and Naval Vessel Industries" with the ROK Navy and DAPA at 2 PM today (the 6th). ○ The agreement ceremony will take place at the headquarters of the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency (U-dong, Haeundae-gu), which serves as the Navy and Marine Corps' National Defense AI Transformation (AX) hub, and will be held alongside the hub opening ceremony and the Marine and National Defense AI Vision Declaration Ceremony. ○ Attendees will include Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo, Chief of Naval Operations Kim Kyung-ryul, Commandant of the Marine Corps Joo Il-seok, and head of the Busan Regional Small and Medium Venture Business Administration Lee Chung-il.
This agreement was prepared to promote the AI transformation of marine and naval vessel industries based on actual marine and defense environments and data, enhance the competitiveness of related technologies, and foster a sustainable industrial ecosystem. Through joint public-private-military R&D, the initiative is expected to elevate the region's AI technological capabilities related to marine and naval vessel industries, create new industrial markets in the marine and national defense AI sectors, and contribute to strengthening future advanced maritime defense capabilities.
Under the agreement, Busan City will be responsible for building marine AI infrastructure such as data centers and fostering the industrial ecosystem; the ROK Navy will review system operation concepts for AI technology development and provide technical demonstration environments; and DAPA will drive AI research and development in the marine and naval vessel sectors and support the development of local defense industries.
Through this agreement, the City expects to foster a self-sustaining industrial ecosystem and expand mutual growth between large corporations and SMEs by attracting major vessel-related defense contractors and research institutes to the region, alongside tech-exchange and cooperation projects with local AI companies and universities. ○ Recently, the attraction and expansion of major shipbuilders' research organizations within the region have increased high-quality jobs for local talent, and the growth of the market related to the AI transformation of vessel businesses is projected to lead to expanded employment opportunities for youth.
Meanwhile, the advanced shipbuilding sector is a major growth engine for the southeastern region in connection with the "5 Poles and 3 Special Zones" strategy. Vessel-based AI transformation technology is expected to spread to the private shipbuilding sector, improving efficiency in ship and vessel Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) businesses.
Mayor Jeon Jae-soo stated, "This agreement will serve as a crucial milestone for the public, private, and military sectors to cooperate in revitalizing regional growth engines and advancing maritime defense," adding, "As maritime security must be reinforced in the wake of the full-fledged Arctic route era, we will do our utmost to secure independent AI transformation technologies to support this and grow the related ecosystem."
[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]
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