Gangwon Technopark’s Hacking Defense Competition wraps up, drawing a record 59 teams

【Financial News, Chuncheon = Kim Gi-seop, Reporter】The hacking defense competition, which identifies cybersecurity talent in Gangwon Province, was held on its largest scale ever and has established itself as the region’s flagship security contest.
On the 3rd, Gangwon Technopark said the finals of the 2026 Gangwon Regional Cybersecurity Hacking Defense Competition were held at the BENIKEA Chuncheon Bears Hotel in Chuncheon on Oct. 31. A total of 152 people from 59 teams took part in the online preliminary round on Sept. 19, and 53 people from 18 teams advanced to the finals across three divisions: student, general/public-sector, and military. The competition was co-hosted by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and a branch of the National Intelligence Service, and organized by Gangwon Technopark and the Gangwon Information Security Support Center.
In the student division, the Yeondong Team won gold. The KTO Team in the general/public-sector division and the Artillery Communications Team in the military division each received the top award. Lee Jae-woo, a student at Yonsei University’s Mirae Campus, was selected to receive the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Award in the student division, which was introduced for the first time this year. The awards ceremony will be held separately at the 2026 Gangwon Regional Information Security Conference on the 12th, publicizing the participants’ achievements.
The competition format was tailored to the characteristics of each division. In the student division, participants both used hacking to find flags in a given environment and completed an incident-response task. In the general/public-sector and military divisions, they worked through scenarios based on simulated real-world cyberattacks and competed to contain incidents within a time limit.
First held in 2020, the competition has consistently drawn local university students, information security staff from companies and public institutions, and military personnel. This year marks its sixth edition. Gangwon Technopark plans to continue its programs to identify cybersecurity talent and strengthen information security capabilities.
Lee Gi-su, director of Gangwon Technopark’s Gangwon Digital Innovation Center, said, “Interest among local cybersecurity talent has grown so much that a record 152 people took part in the preliminary round alone,” adding, “As attacks leveraging AI intrusion tools and generative AI increase, I hope this competition will serve as a foundation for training specialists who can respond immediately at real-world breach sites.”

[email protected] Kim Gi-seop Reporter