Gov't launches drone strategy team to boost industry competitiveness, cope with drone threats

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- Seoul launched a new government drone strategy team Monday to come up with measures to boost the competitiveness of the country's drone industry and also deal effectively with threats from unmanned aerial vehicles, officials said.

Headed by the minister for government policy coordination, the team under the prime minister's office is charged with overseeing the implementation of the national drone and counter-drone transformation strategy and developing related policies, officials said.

The team includes about 20 officials from related ministries and agencies, such as the defense ministry, the transport ministry, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, as well as the office for government policy coordination.

One of the major projects under the national drone and counter-drone transformation strategy is to create 2 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) worth of public sector demand for drones over the next five years to help make the local drone industry globally competitive.

Currently, about 600 drone manufacturing firms are in operation in South Korea, but most of them are micro-businesses with annual sales of less than 170 million won ($111,000) and heavily rely on imports from China for key parts as they lack core technologies.

Other projects include standardizing drone parts and providing financial and tax benefits.

The team's launch came days after North Korea showed off various types of drones during an exhibition held on Thursday.

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