Pocheon City said on March 11 that it recently hosted the Gyeonggi Defense Venture Center's 2026 first-half agreement ceremony and roundtable at Daejin University's Education Hall. The event aimed to help build a defense-industry ecosystem across northern Gyeonggi Province.
The ceremony awarded agreement documents to 38 partner companies selected through the center's first-half recruitment following its opening last month. Organizers also briefed attendees on the Defense Technology Promotion Research Institute's key support programs.
The Gyeonggi Defense Venture Center is a defense-industry support hub jointly run by the Defense Technology Promotion Research Institute, Gyeonggi Province and Pocheon City. It works to apply private-sector technologies to defense needs and to identify and support companies seeking entry into the defense market.
At the roundtable, officials highlighted the 2026 defense-support programs drawing the most interest from partner companies—chiefly research and development (R&D) funding and business-support services.
The currently open Defense Venture Support Project covers up to 75% of development costs. For general projects it provides up to 500 million KRW over as long as two years (roughly $375,000). For innovation projects it offers up to 2 billion KRW over up to three years (roughly $1,500,000).
This year's new K-Defense Startup Nurturing Program targets companies founded within seven years. It delivers three-stage, tailored support—from creating growth roadmaps to defense-focused R&D—to identify innovative defense startups and broaden the sector's ecosystem.
Other initiatives include the 100 Defense Innovation Companies program, defense-export investment support and funding for domestic parts localization development. Participating firms can receive step-by-step consulting on market entry and training to build specialized personnel.
The city said it expects the Gyeonggi Defense Venture Center to strengthen national defense and stimulate the local economy by channeling private-sector technologies into the defense sector.
Pocheon also plans to expand support so that local small and venture firms can enter the defense market more stably and grow into globally competitive companies.
