Naver: "If the 'Kill Switch' Is Controlled by Foreign Providers, the Battlefield Could Drastically Change... Defense AI Must Be Consolidated" (Comprehensive)

'Defense AI Strategy Seminar' Held
Sovereign AI Strategy Unveiled for Defense AX

Naver Cloud held the 'Defense AI Strategy Seminar (Defense AI Day)' on the 18th at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, targeting 550 attendees including officials from the Ministry of National Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and respective military branches. Provided by Naver Cloud.

Naver is accelerating defense artificial intelligence (AI) through its Sovereign AI strategy for the transformation of defense AI.

On September 18, Naver Cloud hosted the "Defense AI Strategy Seminar (Defense AI Day)" at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul for 550 participants, including officials from the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and various branches of the military. During the event, Naver Cloud unveiled its defense Sovereign AI strategy, which aims to help the military rapidly convert civilian technologies into military assets while giving the armed forces direct control over their own data and models.

Yoo-won Kim, CEO of Naver Cloud, said, "Defense AI does not end with the introduction of new technology; it must extend to identifying the military's needs, verifying those needs in the field, and ultimately operationalizing solutions." Kim continued, "Rather than taking a leading role, the function of a company is to deliver the fastest and most accurate technological support wherever the military needs it. Naver Cloud will connect and support the capabilities of the military, defense contractors, startups, and research institutions to help solve real-world defense problems, becoming a key partner in the process."

Naver Cloud stated that it seeks to go beyond being a mere AI provider to become a long-term partner, designing and validating the Republic of Korea's transition to AI-powered defense. Backed by its full-stack capabilities that span AI models, services, infrastructure, and its proven security expertise, the company envisions taking responsibility from infrastructure to real-world mission deployment.

CEO Kim also added, "Naver is not only serving South Korea but is also aggressively expanding globally. It would be ideal if Naver's AI software technologies used domestically could also take root in the global defense sector and spread worldwide."

Naver Cloud held the 'Defense AI Strategy Seminar (Defense AI Day)' on the 18th at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, targeting 550 attendees including officials from the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and various military branches. Kim Yuwon, the CEO, delivered the welcoming speech. Provided by Naver Cloud.

Sun-ho Kim, former Vice Minister of National Defense, who recently joined Naver as a full-time senior advisor, said, "The success or failure of Defense AX hinges on how swiftly the military can convert innovative civilian technologies into operational power. The private sector must lead technological innovation, while the military rapidly integrates those advancements through a 'civil-military fusion ecosystem.' Such an ecosystem is essential to organically merge AI into military operational concepts and weapons systems, driving both practical force integration and widespread adoption."

Need to Connect Dispersed Infrastructure, AI Models, and Applications

Kyungbum Yoo, Executive Vice President and Head of Defense Business at Naver Cloud, suggested that accelerating defense Sovereign AI requires structuring the convergence, connection, validation, and evolution of civilian technologies. Naver Cloud plans to consolidate expertise from private sector domains such as infrastructure, AI models, and applications, and safely connect military data with AI models in closed networks, thereby supporting the military's control over both data and models. The company intends to start by producing measurable results in mission areas where effects can be quantified, evolve performance continuously while operating systems jointly with field deployment engineers (FDEs), and expand adoption step by step.

Yoo emphasized, "As AI becomes a core national capability, safeguarding sovereignty becomes more important—especially in national security and economic sectors. With a sense of mission, we've entered the defense sector to apply the experience and technology that Naver has accumulated where sovereignty matters most."

Yoo added, "We must hold the 'kill switch,' the emergency power cutoff for critical software. If foreign solution providers have the ability to control emergency power to essential software on the battlefield, sudden contingencies can arise." He stressed that compared to the United States and other nations, South Korea faces significant limitations in data and budgetary resources, making national-level coordination essential.

Yoo highlighted, "Aside from the United States and China, South Korea is the only country in the world to possess the full spectrum—from large language model (LLM) development to hyperscale data center operations and cloud technology. Marshaling these capabilities enables global-level technological strength." He continued, "Aggregating and connecting data that is scattered among each military branch is absolutely crucial. Although many projects are being commissioned by branch, we must establish a system where infrastructure, models, and applications are closely integrated so that these assets become true national properties."

Nakho Sung, Head of Hyperscale AI Technology at Naver Cloud, who leads model development, stressed that for autonomous weapons systems to function properly, a "shared semantic framework" is necessary so that various sensors and platforms can interpret the same situation consistently. As supporting technologies, Sung mentioned spatial intelligence—structuring drone imagery and sensor data into 3D spaces—and world models, which simulate and predict actions in virtual environments based on battlefield variables such as terrain, weather, and radar data. The objective is to connect the full spectrum of intelligence, from situational understanding to judgment, action, and learning, while empowering the military to control and implement the desired intelligence directly, independent of any single model.

A Naver Cloud representative stated, "We are not merely offering technology as a one-off solution; by reflecting on-site requirements in real time via FDEs, we will continue to upgrade performance. Based on this approach, we will undertake the role of a key technology partner that enables the military to directly control data and models, refining them into a self-evolving defense system."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.