South Korea becomes fifth country in the world to install quantum computer

[Anchor]

Quantum computers, which are considered key technologies to lead the future, have entered our country as the fifth in the world.

It is said to be the best-performing product among commercially available quantum computers.

Reporter Ji Hyung-cheol introduces it.

[Report]

In a small room, a cylindrical structure is visible...

This is the quantum computer installed at Yonsei University by the global IT company, IBM.

To ensure that the information processing unit, the qubit, is stably maintained in a quantum state, the main computing device inside the cylinder operates in a superconducting state where electrical resistance is completely eliminated.

Excluding those still in development, it is the highest-performing quantum computer in the world, making us the fifth country to adopt it after the United States, Japan, Germany, and Canada.

Once quantum computer technology is perfected, it can theoretically achieve performance 100 million times greater than existing supercomputers, and up to 30 trillion times greater.

It can quickly solve complex problems such as protein structure analysis needed for new drug development and logistics system design, as well as create much more complex military codes, making it a technology strictly controlled by advanced countries.

[Baek Kyung-hyun/Professor/Yonsei University Convergence Science and Technology Institute: "In countries other than the United States and its allies, the key chips for developing such quantum computers, as well as personnel and exchanges, are prohibited."]

The government also views quantum computers as a key technology that will change the landscape of advanced technology fields, allocating 100 billion won in next year's budget.

The quantum computer unveiled today (Nov.20) will undergo test operations and will be fully operational by March next year.

[Jung Jae-ho/Head of Quantum Project Team/Yonsei University: "If our quantum research capabilities are strengthened, our ultimate vision is to establish ourselves as a global cooperation hub for research and industrialization in the quantum field."]

It will also be opened to companies, including pharmaceutical companies, for a fee, so that it can be utilized in the industrial field.

This is Ji Hyung-cheol from KBS News.