Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul) has been selected for the Ministry of Education's ‘Glocal Lab’ consortium project, aimed at fostering regional innovation hubs for basic research ecosystems.

The ‘Glocal Lab Project’, overseen by the Ministry of Education, is a new support initiative aimed at developing university-affiliated research institutes into regional research hubs. Its objectives include: △ Creating and disseminating innovative research outcomes △ Cultivating talent, including the next generation of scholars △ Fostering open research ecosystem hubs.

Kookmin University, selected as the lead institution, will receive 2.4 billion won annually for the next nine years, totaling 21.6 billion won in government funding, alongside Korea University Sejong Campus and Kangwon National University. Based on this support, Kookmin University plans to leap forward as a hub research institute by securing global competitiveness in the security field of defense weapon systems for defense and aerospace companies, centered around its ‘Defense Technology Protection Research Institute’. 

The newly launched Defense Technology Protection Research Institute will pursue systematic research focused on three core tasks: ▲ Weapon System Protection Technology ▲ Advanced Defense Protection Technology ▲ Weapon System RMF Testing and Evaluation Technology. Through this, the institute will transcend institutional, regional, and disciplinary barriers to foster a defense protection technology research ecosystem and serve as a global hub for defense industry protection research.

Professor Han Dong Guk of the Department of Information Security, Cryptography and Mathematics at Kookmin University's College of Science and Technology (Director of the Defense Technology Protection Research Institute) stated, “With significant increases in defense capability improvement funds and defense exports, South Korea is now transitioning from an industry that imports weapons or manufactures weapons for domestic use to a defense nation creating new future national strategic industries through the export of weapon systems.” He expressed his aspirations, saying, “Through this project, Kookmin University will realize the strategic advancement of defense weapon system security and grow into a research hub contributing to leading defense security research linked to the regional ecosystem and cultivating specialized talent.” 

Meanwhile, the faculty and research team of the Department of Information Security and Cryptography at Kookmin University's College of Science and Technology have received positive evaluations for establishing a robust defense security cooperation framework underpinning this project. Since founding the National Cyber Electronic Warfare Research Institute in 2023 to protect weapon system technologies, they have secured agreements with various relevant institutions, including the 777th Command Signal Technology Research Institute, LIG Nex1, ICTK, and the Korea Testing Laboratory for Machinery, Electrical and Electronic Products.