The Signal
South Korea Expands Quantum Testbeds Into Three Hubs
South Korea launched a three-year plan to expand quantum communications testbeds into commercial, overseas and future-technology hubs. KT will lead domestic and future testing, while SK Broadband leads cross-border trials.
Quantum.world Team · Written with AI · fact-checked ·
South Korea’s existing quantum communications testbeds run along the Seoul–Pangyo–Daejeon corridor; a government project launched on October 21 aims to extend testing across the country and into overseas links. The three-year plan assigns separate roles to commercial deployment, international trials and next-generation research. A KT update on October 22 added a specific target for wireless quantum key distribution: extending demonstrations from about 4.8 kilometers to about 15 kilometers.
From the Seoul–Daejeon corridor to regional routes
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency are expanding a shared test environment where companies and research institutions can use quantum-cryptography networks and measurement equipment that may be difficult to maintain individually. The existing facilities have been built along the Seoul, Pangyo and Daejeon corridor since 2024. The new program separates the work into commercial, overseas and future-technology hubs, with the aim of testing equipment and systems in different settings.
The commercial network is scheduled to reach Daegu in 2026, Gwangju and Busan in 2027, and the Gangwon region in 2028. The plan calls for trials in research, medical and financial data transmission, as well as checks on whether equipment from different domestic manufacturers can work together. The government and private sector are committing 7.4 billion won this year: 3.75 billion won in public funding and 3.65 billion won in private contributions.
KT takes the commercial and future hubs
A KT-led consortium will operate the commercial and future hubs. In the commercial program, KT plans new test routes connecting Daejeon with Daegu and Gwangju, Daegu with Busan, and Seoul with Chuncheon. Those connections are intended to support interoperability trials and demonstrations in settings such as healthcare and finance.
The future hub will test technologies beyond the current fiber-based deployments, including wireless QKD and distribution of quantum entanglement among multiple nodes. KT says it plans to extend its wireless QKD demonstration range from about 4.8 kilometers to about 15 kilometers. The company also plans to study equipment modularization and adaptive optics to address atmospheric turbulence, with possible use in satellite communications as a longer-term application.
Jeon Myung-jun, executive director and head of KT’s Enterprise Service Division, said the company would “contribute to commercialising quantum technology in Korea and revitalising the industrial ecosystem.”
SK Broadband’s overseas hub targets cross-border tests
An SK Broadband-led consortium will run the overseas hub, linking South Korean testbeds with facilities in Singapore, Poland and Bulgaria. The project plans to use QKD on domestic and local overseas network segments, while post-quantum cryptography will protect longer international links. Proposed trials include research-data transmission and data protection for urban air mobility.
The distinction matters: QKD uses quantum processes to distribute encryption keys, while post-quantum cryptography uses conventional computing methods designed to withstand attacks from future quantum computers. The program will test whether South Korean technology and equipment can operate in overseas environments, not simply whether domestic links can be extended geographically.
Three hubs, three different tests
The initiative is part of the government’s effort to support commercialization of quantum communications products, but its immediate deliverables are test routes, interoperability checks and technical demonstrations. The commercial hub expands the domestic network; the overseas hub examines cross-border security arrangements; the future hub probes wireless links and multi-node entanglement distribution. Each depends on companies and research institutions being able to use the shared facilities for testing.
The project runs through 2028. Its first scheduled regional extension is to Daegu in 2026, while KT’s stated wireless-QKD target is approximately 15 kilometers, up from the current demonstration distance of about 4.8 kilometers.