Fast drone delivery service to islands and parks to begin from August

A drone carrying Samsung\'s mobile products is flying to Biyangdo in Jeju Island. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

A service that delivers food, daily necessities and first aid supplies by drone to some island areas and parks will begin in August.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) said on July 30 that 14 local governments selected for the MOLIT's drone demonstration city construction project have completed preparations for drone delivery and will start implementing the “K-drone delivery” service in earnest from August.

There are 32 islands nationwide where the drone delivery service is available, including Marado, Gapado, and Biyangdo in Jeju lsland, Geumodo in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, five in Gopado in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, Deokjeokdo in Incheon, and Yonghodo in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province.

The park areas include Tancheon and Jungang Park in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Sanjeong Lake in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, and the city parks in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, Namwon, North Jeolla Province, Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, and Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. The drone delivery service will also be available in the anchorage, a mooring and anchoring area for ships, at Busan Port, and the sea wall in Jodo Island.

Jeju Island has begun the delivery service since July 19. The service will begin in Gongju, Gimcheon, Pocheon, Yeosu, Seongnam, Yangju, Changwon, Ulju, and Tongyeong from August.

It will start in Seosan, Namwon, Incheon, and Busan from September.

The main delivery items are chicken, pizza, and other food and household items weighing 3 kilograms or less. The delivery frequency is once or twice a week per section, and the delivery cost is set at 5,000 won for a distance of 10 kilometers.

In some island areas, fishery products produced by local residents are delivered back to the land. Local specialties are delivered to park areas, and ship supplies are delivered to harbor areas. In addition, cardiac defibrillators and first aid kits are deployed in the starting points of the delivery to allow rapid delivery of them for emergency patients.

The MOLIT explained that some large companies, such as Samsung Electronics, have already been using drones to deliver their products, such as cell phones and other electronic devices, and water purifier supplies, and that the delivery items will be more diverse in the future. Joo Jong-wan, head of the aviation policy office at the MOLIT, said, "We will work with other local governments to expand the delivery area and establish drone delivery as a safe and convenient new delivery system.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.