South Korea is expanding its testing grounds for quantum communications at home and abroad, with the government and private companies aiming to commercialize domestic quantum communications technology and products through three hubs — commercial, overseas and future — over three years from this year through 2028.
The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) said it will hold a launch briefing for the project to upgrade and expand open quantum testbeds with the National Information Society Agency (NIA) on the 21st at the Pangyo Business Support Hub. The project is tied to the quantum industry, which the government has designated as one of its seven key strategic technologies, and is designed to broaden testing opportunities for domestic quantum communications technology and products while strengthening the foundation for commercialization and overseas expansion.
The open quantum testbeds are testing spaces where companies and research institutions can jointly use quantum cryptography communications test networks and expensive measurement equipment that they would struggle to maintain on their own, allowing them to verify the performance of their technology and products. MSIT and NIA have been building testing environments along the Seoul, Pangyo and Daejeon corridor since 2024.
The new project will expand the existing testing infrastructure into commercial, overseas and future hubs according to technological maturity and intended use. Following a public call for proposals in May and a selection review, MSIT picked a consortium led by KT to run the commercial and future hubs and a consortium led by SK Broadband for the overseas hub. The project runs three years from this year through 2028, with a total of 7.4 billion won invested this year, including 3.75 billion won in government funding and 3.65 billion won from the private sector.
At the commercial hub, the existing test network will be extended to Daegu this year, to Gwangju and Busan next year and to the Gangwon region in 2028. Companies plan to use that network to apply quantum cryptography communications to data transmission in research, medical and financial services, and to verify interoperability between domestically made equipment from different manufacturers.
The overseas hub will pursue cross-border quantum security testing by linking up with quantum testbeds in Singapore, Poland and Bulgaria. Quantum key distribution (QKD) will be applied to domestic and local overseas segments, while post-quantum cryptography (PQC) will be used on long-haul international segments, to test research data transmission and the protection of urban air mobility (UAM) data, among other uses. The project will also verify whether domestic technology and equipment can be deployed abroad.
The future hub will be operated with the goal of building a testing environment for next-generation quantum communications technologies, such as long-distance wireless quantum cryptography communications and the distribution of quantum entanglement across multiple points.
"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," an MSIT official said. "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."