ON JAN. 28, 2022, Yonsei University and defense company LIG Nex1 partnered to launch the LIGNex1 Consortium-Yonsei University Mechanical Engineering Multidisciplinary Joint Research Center (listed below as “research center”). After years of meticulous planning, the two organizations founded the institute with the common goal of advancing South Korea’s defense industry. Located in the Yonsei Engineering Research Park, the newly opened research center aims to produce advanced technology for Korea’s latest weapon systems.

Cultivating the next generation of defense experts

   The Yonsei University School of Mechanical Engineering is the hub of national research projects and an active participant of Brain Korea 21 (BK21), a human resource development program run by the South Korean government. The School’s BK21 program has five research clusters, one of which is advanced defense technology; the university's latest collaboration is with South Korean defense industry leader LIG Nex1.

   Formerly known as LG Innotek, LIG Nex1 is one of the major defense and security products suppliers for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and an international exporter of weapon systems. The company manufactures a wide range of advanced precision electronic systems, including missiles, surveillance radars, underwater weapon systems, and naval combat systems. While the new research center is an industry-academy collaboration project, the roles of the school and the corporation remain strictly split according to each organization's strengths.

   In an interview with The Yonsei Annals, Park No-cheol (Prof., Dept. of Mechanical Engineering), the supervisor of the research center, stated that “the school is good at conducting basic academic research and demonstrating the feasibility of results.” In addition, according to Park, the school has a broader academic network compared to corporations, facilitates domestic and foreign cooperation systems, and cultivates outstanding scholars in relevant fields.

   On the other hand, the school expects the company to provide technical issues and real data, such as insider information on the defense industry or pressing urgencies. "While schools have an aptitude for academic research, they are not as familiar with technical issues or data as companies that do business on the front line," stated Park. According to Park, the school needs to be complemented by the companies’ knowledge on the two factors to prevent engineering research from falling through the cracks. Engineering research differs from basic academic research because it requires results to be feasibly implemented beyond experimentation; for instance, findings are utilized to resolve various challenges that the company has been grappling with. The research center thus creates sophisticated prototypes and implements new technologies to larger weapon systems, activities that are difficult to conduct without a large company’s help. Because technical issues and real data cannot be provided carelessly due to the confidential nature of the information, the school signs non-disclosure agreements (NDA) and is given details under limited conditions. Students who participate in this integrative process will be able to develop a thorough understanding of defense technology and potentially be recruited to work for the company. “That's the biggest role the school can play,” stated Park.

   As South Korea’s defense industry giant, LIG Nex1 seeks to expand export routes to overseas markets and operates offices in the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and Colombia[1]. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, LIG Nex1 shares also rose by 21.7%[2]. In response to potential concerns regarding the school receiving criticism for its military-related partnership, Park stated that "almost everyone agrees that a country should be equipped with adequate defense power," emphasizing how South Korea is especially in a challenging situation maintaining complex relationships with neighboring countries. Moreover, Park added that “the bulk of the research revolves around increasing the accuracy of weapons, rather than their destructive power.”

Fueling future innovations

   In addition to strengthening Korea's defense research and development (R&D) capabilities, LIG Nex1 strives to lead the future of domestic defense companies. As a result, the necessity to develop durable, reliable weapons makes the industry closely connected with mechanical engineering. In an interview with the Annals, a representative from LIG Nex1 stated that because the company "requires a lot of collaboration with professors in different engineering fields," a continuous collaborative system with Yonsei University was needed to incorporate research activities of the school into future technologies. According to the representative, the collaboration’s biggest challenge was planning the direction of the research center, analyzing its potential ripple effects, and reaching a consensus with the internal and external officials involved. Because there are many stakeholders in the company with differing interests, the representative stated that "it was not easy to formulate decisions based on a single party's opinion." Therefore, following lengthy consultation on both sides regarding operation plans and activity plans, the joint research center was established.

   Through the collaboration, the corporation wishes to research advanced defense technology, such as laser weapon systems that accurately aim and track down various targets in even the poorest operating environments. To design such precise devices, the research center is expected to analyze system components and develop algorithms in advance. The company will also assist the research center in developing new materials, such as high-density, heat-resistant material technologies that can be applied to future defense products. In addition, the company hopes to conduct research on Fourth Industrial Revolution technology like artificial intelligence, big data, and autonomous driving and implement them in defense technologies. Outside of research, LIG Nex1 plans to enrich its collaboration with Yonsei through regular information exchanges. The corporation's activity plan includes quarterly technology exchange meetings, various projects and seminars, and the formation of an education curriculum for defense-related technology. The education curriculum will cover basic concepts such as vibration, heat flow, application, and advisory activities with professors for satisfactory output. “We look forward to fostering talent and recruiting highly qualified individuals through the research center's activities,” stated the LIG Nex1 Representative.

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   While details may remain confidential to the general public, Yonsei University’s latest collaboration will produce innovations that affect not only the field of engineering but also South Korean military affairs. It is up to our students and professors to maintain a keen interest in the school’s involvement with the defense industry. Equipped with a wealth of academic resources and a defense industry giant’s assistance, Yonsei anticipates a bustling research center in the years to come.

[1] Chosun Ilbo

[2] The Korea Economic Daily