Korea’s first ‘drone delivery service’ will start in the second half of this year in the Jeju Island-Gapado section. Although some companies have carried out ‘drone delivery’ on their own in some areas, this is the first time the government has made a commercial ‘skyway delivery drone’ with a budget and encouraged companies to participate. The government plans to expand the service to around 100 other islands in a similar situation once the Gapado drone delivery service is established.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 17th that “the first paid drone delivery in Korea to 130 households in Gapado, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do will begin in earnest around September this year.” Gapado is an island about 4 km southwest of Jeju Island, and has a population of only about 200 people, so there is no delivery service. When couriers deliver goods to Unjin Port in Jeju Island, island residents often take passenger and administrative boats for about 10 minutes to Unjin Port to pick up the goods. If drone delivery is implemented, this inconvenience will disappear.
To this end, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to build take-off and landing sites for delivery drones in Jeju Island and Gapado, respectively, in the first half of this year. When couriers pile up shipments at the drone take-off and landing site near Unjin Port on Jeju Island, drones from private companies deliver them to Gapado Island. An official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, “We are considering a plan to deliver heavy items to the airport in Gapado via heavy duty drones, and to deliver light items from Jeju Island directly to the front yard of Gapado residents. using light drones.”
The government plans to establish a drone delivery route between Jeju Island and Gapado within the first half of this year. A government official said, “We need to plan a route so that there is no damage to life or property even if a drone crashes.” Gapado plans to prepare the necessary infrastructure for drone delivery in the first half of the year and select drone delivery companies in the second half of the year to begin delivery in earnest.
Some say, “The additional cost of drone delivery will mean a lot, which will reduce business feasibility.” The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport estimates that drone deliveries can incur an additional cost of around 5,000 won to 10,000 won per delivery. A government official said, “Additional costs will be paid by central and local governments and the island’s residents.”
Previously, there was a drone delivery service in Korea. Convenience store companies have already started delivering products using drones from a campsite in Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon-do or a pension near Gapyeong Arboretum in Gyeonggi-do in 2021-2022. A pizza company also conducted a three-month drone delivery test at Sejong City’s Lake Park around the same time. It was in the nature of a pilot project where some companies carried out their own drone distribution in a limited number of areas where there were no restrictions on operation. An official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, “This Gapado drone delivery is the government’s attempt to develop drone delivery by creating dedicated routes, take-off and landing sites, and even safety regulations.”
Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce company, also started delivering drones in small cities in California and Texas in the United States in December last year. Before this, Wing, a subsidiary of Google, and Walmart, a major retailer, also provide drone delivery services. Wing delivers via drone in parts of Virginia and Texas, and Walmart recently announced it would expand drone delivery to 4 million homes in six states. A government official said, “In foreign countries like the United States, the private sector is leading the delivery of drones. There is no case where the government has created infrastructure such as drone delivery routes and take-off and landing pads like Korea.”
