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(From left) Kang Suk-joong, Professor at the Graduate School of Innovation and Technology Management at Korea University, and Kim Yu-won, CEO of Naver Cloud, pose for a photo after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Korea University's C5ISRT Convergence Center and Naver Cloud to research core battlefield technologies and jointly pursue the KCCS project. / Courtesy of Naver Cloud

Naver Cloud has partnered with Korea University to take full-fledged steps into the defense artificial intelligence (AI) transformation business. By combining its proprietary AI and cloud technologies with Korea University's defense research capabilities, the company plans to advance command and control systems and develop defense-specialized AI technologies.

On July 21, Naver Cloud announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on July 20 with the C5ISRT Convergence Research Center of the Department of Defense Technology and Management under Korea University's Graduate School of Innovation and Technology Management for industry-academia cooperation in the defense C5ISRT field. The two parties plan to jointly pursue core defense AI projects worth a total of 20 billion won.

C5ISRT refers to an integrated command, control, and battlefield awareness system that incorporates command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting. The C5ISRT Convergence Research Center at Korea University is a specialized research organization led by Professor Kang Suk-joong, who has conducted research in defense technology management for nearly 40 years.

Through this agreement, Naver Cloud plans to leverage Korea University's defense research expertise to jointly develop field-ready AI technologies and next-generation command and control systems. Key areas of cooperation include participating in the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) military-industry-academia cooperation center, developing technology for hyper-scale AI-based command and control systems, and conducting preliminary research and development on core technologies needed for the 2027 Korea Command and Control System (KCCS) project.

The JCS military-industry-academia cooperation center is one of the defense AI transformation (AX) hubs where the Ministry of National Defense utilizes defense data to drive civilian-military AI cooperation. The Ministry of National Defense plans to establish AX hubs in five regions nationwide: Yongsan in Seoul, Pangyo, Daejeon, Yangjae, and Busan. Naver Cloud, together with Korea University, plans to participate in establishing the JCS hub to build a joint research system with the military and to discover and demonstrate defense-specialized AI technologies.

Both parties will also jointly conduct research on building a defense common and standard platform. They plan to expand the scope of cooperation from research and development to demonstration, commercialization, and talent cultivation by co-operating educational programs to foster defense technology and defense industry professionals.

Kim Yu-won, CEO of Naver Cloud, stated, "Through cooperation with Korea University's C5ISRT Research Center, we will expand our foundation for participating in core defense projects and contribute to strengthening South Korea's defense AI competitiveness."

                                                                                                           Lee Seo-yeon