S. Korea to Launch Quantum Computing-based Cloud Services This Year

This photo, provided by the Busan city government on Jan. 11, 2024, shows an urban air mobility vehicle. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)

SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will launch cloud services using indigenous quantum computers and begin test flights of urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles in Seoul metropolitan areas this year, the finance ministry said Wednesday.

They are part of the major projects that the government is pushing to nurture advanced technologies and spur growth momentum.

Under the plan, the government will initiate cloud services based on indigenous 20-qubit quantum computers for the public in the second half of this year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

It will also begin technology development for a more advanced 50-qubit computing system by 2026, it added.

In the next-generation mobility sector, the government plans to begin flight tests of UAM vehicles above the Gyeongin Ara waterway linking the Han River and the Yellow Sea starting August.

Such tests in Seoul and the surrounding urban areas will continue through June 2025 as the country aims to begin the commercial services next year, the ministry said.

The government also vowed to extend support for such key industries as secondary batteries, semiconductors, displays and shipbuilding to secure technology prowess this year.

“Mobility, quantum technology and bio sectors, among other fields, can serve as a new growth engine for our economy. The government will create tangible results in related projects,” Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said during an emergency economic ministers’ meeting.

(Yonhap)