Ulju County ranks 2nd nationwide among local governments in K-Drone Delivery.

Vololand Inc. awarded 1st place Minister’s Award among participating companies

On the 11th, Ulju County, Ulsan, was selected as an excellent organization for K-Drone Delivery and received the Korea Transportation Safety Authority President’s Award.

At the “2024 Drone Safety and Activation Support Project Results Report Meeting” held at the Mayfield Hotel in Seoul, hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and organized by the Korea Institute of Aviation Safety Technology, Ulju County ranked second among 14 local governments nationwide and earned this honor.

Earlier in February, Ulju County was selected for the Ministry’s 2024 Drone Demonstration City Project and carried out the “K-Drone Delivery Commercialization Project.” With a total budget of 800 million KRW—500 million KRW from the central government and 300 million KRW from the county—they established infrastructure including three delivery hubs and fifteen drop-off points.

Before project implementation, essential preparations were made over about five months, including flight route construction and testing, delivery app development, logistics consulting, safety management system training, special flight approvals, and delivery packaging system development.

Starting with the “Ulju County K-Drone Delivery Demonstration” on September 5, drone delivery operated every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The project successfully concluded on November 29.

Vololand Inc., headquartered in Cheongnyang, Ulju County, handled the drone deliveries, achieving 45 delivery days, 312 delivery cases, approximately 4 million KRW in sales, and a cumulative delivery distance of 691 km during the project period.

Building on these results, Ulju County plans to offer drone delivery services next year linked to the beach opening and vacation seasons. They also intend to increase the weight per delivery to allow customers to order larger quantities.

Ulju County Governor Lee Soon-gul stated, “As drones become a more immediate part of daily life, we will work to expand the service so that county residents can truly feel its benefits and make it a universal service.”

Meanwhile, Vololand was recognized at the report meeting for the domestic localization of core components including the flight controller (FC), GNSS (satellite positioning system), multifunctional edge board, and battery parts. Vololand won first place among participating companies and received the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister’s Award.

Reporter Min Chang-yeon (changyoni@)