Insider Brief
- South Korea plans to expand its quantum communications testing infrastructure through three hubs focused on commercial applications, overseas interoperability and next-generation technologies through 2028.
- The Ministry of Science and ICT selected a KT-led consortium to operate the commercial and future hubs and an SK Broadband-led consortium to manage the overseas hub, with 7.4 billion won allocated for 2026.
- The hubs will support domestic equipment interoperability, cross-border testing with Singapore, Poland and Bulgaria, and research into technologies such as long-distance wireless quantum cryptography and multi-point quantum entanglement distribution.
South Korea’s government and private companies plan to widen quantum communications testing at home and abroad through commercial, overseas and future hubs, Seoul Economic Daily reported. The three-year effort runs from this year through 2028, with the aim of commercializing domestically developed quantum communications technology and products.
The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) said it will hold a launch briefing on the 21st at the Pangyo Business Support Hub for a project, run with the National Information Society Agency (NIA), to upgrade and expand open quantum testbeds. The project is tied to the quantum industry, which the government has designated one of its seven key strategic technologies, according to the outlet. It is meant to give domestic quantum communications technology and products more chances to be tested and to strengthen the groundwork for commercialization and overseas expansion.
Open quantum testbeds let companies and research institutions share quantum cryptography communications test networks and costly measurement equipment that would be hard to maintain individually, so they can verify how their technology and products perform. MSIT and NIA have been building test environments along the Seoul, Pangyo and Daejeon corridor since 2024.
The new project divides the existing infrastructure into three hubs based on technological maturity and intended use. After a public call for proposals in May and a selection review, MSIT picked a KT-led consortium to run the commercial and future hubs and an SK Broadband-led consortium for the overseas hub. Seoul Economic Daily reports that 7.4 billion won is being invested this year, with 3.75 billion won from the government and 3.65 billion won from the private sector.
- Commercial hub: The existing test network will extend to Daegu this year, to Gwangju and Busan next year, and to the Gangwon region in 2028. Companies plan to use it to apply quantum cryptography communications to data transmission in research, medical and financial services, and to check interoperability between domestically made equipment from different manufacturers.
- Overseas hub: It will run cross-border quantum security tests by linking with testbeds in Singapore, Poland and Bulgaria. Quantum key distribution (QKD) will cover domestic and local overseas segments, while post-quantum cryptography (PQC) will cover long-haul international segments. Planned tests include research data transmission and protection of urban air mobility (UAM) data, among other uses, and the project will also check whether domestic technology and equipment can be deployed abroad.
- Future hub: It is intended to provide a test environment for next-generation quantum communications technologies, such as long-distance wireless quantum cryptography communications and the distribution of quantum entanglement across multiple points.
An MSIT official, quoted in the report, said: “To speed up the commercialization of quantum technology, it is important to broaden the testing infrastructure so that companies can verify their technology and products in a variety of environments.” The official added: “Through the expansion of domestic testbeds and links with overseas partners, the government will increase testing opportunities for companies and strengthen testing, verification and technical support tailored to on-site demand.”