Test runs of drone delivery launched for remote villages, islands

SEOUL, July 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Wednesday began test operation of a drone delivery system to send public or relief goods to remote villages and islands, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said. The ministry said it has signed an agreement of cooperation with Korea Post, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corp. and the provincial governments of South Chungcheong and South Jeolla on the joint test operation of a public drone delivery system. In the system, one drone base is in charge of three to five key points, with one key point consisting of 10 to 20 points of delivery with a radius of 10 kilometers. The system is used by the central and local governments and public institutions to send relief goods or public service-related mail and parcels to remote mountain and island villages that cannot be easily accessed by delivery vehicles. The interior ministry will offer updated road address information, while the Korea Post and the ETRI will be in charge of drone delivery and operation technology, respectively. The test operation was launched in South Chungcheong and South Jeolla provinces, ahead of nationwide operation slated for 2021, ministry officials said, adding about 30 points of drone delivery will be established in each of the two provinces this year. The government aims to open 10 drone delivery bases nationwide by 2022, they said. In Wednesday's test operation, a drone flew 4 kilometers from Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, to deliver medical relief goods to villagers on two islands off the western coast. Conventional delivery of such goods requires about two hours but the drone delivery took only 20 minutes. "The establishment of the drone delivery system will help improve the quality of life of residents on remote islands lacking in logistics infrastructure. Such experiments will also provide fresh growth momentum to the domestic drone industry," Yoon Jong-in, vice minister of the Interior and Safety, said. ycm@yna.co.kr (END)