South Korea Launches World First Commercial Quantum Network Acros...

South Korea national telecommunications company KT Corporation activated the world first commercial quantum cryptography communication network spanning Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, Incheon, and Gwangju, a total backbone distance of over 1,000 kilometres. The network uses quantum key distribution to generate encryption keys that are physically impossible to intercept without detection, providing communication security that no classical supercomputer can crack. South Korean government ministries, banking regulators, and defence agencies were the first institutions migrated to the quantum-secure network. The Korean government invested approximately $850 million in the project over seven years. Telecom experts worldwide have noted the rollout as the first proof that quantum communication is commercially and operationally viable at national scale, prompting parallel investment acceleration in the EU, United States, and India.