13-Year-Old Drone Prodigy Kim Min-chan of GiGA5 Wins 'Asia Cup Shanghai'
'GiGA Drone Racing World Masters' to be held on August 6th next month to expand the base of drone sports

KT announced on the 25th that Kim Min-chan of the KT drone racing team 'GiGA5' won first place among 128 total participants with a time of 55.56 seconds at the 1st 'Asia Cup Shanghai' drone racing competition held in Shanghai, China on July 23.

The 'Asia Cup Shanghai' held this time featured 128 representative-level players from 16 major Asian countries, including China, Japan, and Korea, who formed 16 groups of 8 players each and competed in a total of 5 rounds. Korea had players ranked within the top 10 domestically participating, and 5 players (Kim Min-chan, Son Young-rok, Song Geun-mok, Lee Jae-hak, and Choi Jin-hyun), including the winner Kim Min-chan, achieved excellent results by placing within the top 10 of the tournament.

In addition, GiGA5's Son Young-rok, who also participated in the competition, recorded a time of 1 minute 12.10 seconds, securing second place following Kim Min-chan. KT's GiGA5 drone racing team, the first of its kind established by a domestic company, once again defeated formidable global competitors following their victory in the freestyle category and advancement to the round of 16 in the racing category at the World Championships in Dubai last May.

By reaching the top ranks of international competitions, they proved themselves to be the undisputed strongest force in domestic drone racing. The two players have already been officially recognized as the best players in the country, having ranked 1st and 2nd respectively at the 'Korea Drone Racing Ranking Tournament' held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on July 3.

The KT GiGA5 team plans to continue participating in major international competitions to expand the base of drone sports. In particular, they will participate in the 'GiGA Drone Racing World Masters,' an international competition featuring champions from 12 European and Asian countries, which will be held in Haeundae, Busan from August 6 to 7 next month.

Lee Dong-soo, Executive Vice President and Head of the IMC Division at KT's Marketing Sector, stated, "The status of domestic drone racing is rising through the winning streak of KT Drone Racing Team GiGA5 athletes in international competitions," adding, "Going forward, we will solidify our image as 'Korea's No. 1 Drone Company' and continue innovative sports marketing by hosting the world's largest international competitions and drone ranking tournaments—activities only KT can achieve."