South Korea’s drone industry is facing several critical challenges, including a fragile supply chain, inadequate coordination among component manufacturers, and a lack of effective overseas expansion strategies. According to industry insiders, the procurement system based on the “lowest bid” principle is a major factor undermining trust in domestic drone platforms. If the industry wishes to expand, it must take measures to ensure production speed, establish mass production systems, and transition to incorporate artificial intelligence and other new manufacturing technologies.

Tech giants OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank on September 23 have announced a US$400 billion plan to build five new artificial intelligence data centers across the US, a massive infrastructure blitz under the “Stargate” initiative designed to add 7GW of computing power over the next three years and Foxconn Technology Group, a key server supplier for Oracle, stands to be a major winner in the deal, according to some market observers.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said on September 25 that its proposed new approval system for semiconductor exports to South Africa has been suspended, just two days after the plan was announced.