Changwon Mayor Heo Seong-mu Visits Hanwha Defense to Discuss Localization of Defense Industry Parts and More

Heo Seong-mu, Mayor of Changwon, visited Hanwha Defense located in Sinchong-dong, Seongsan-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam. Photo by Changwon City

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Choi Hyun-joo] The mayor of Changwon City announced on the 11th that he visited Hanwha Defense, a defense industry specialized company located in Sinchon-dong, Seongsan-gu, Changwon, Gyeongnam, to listen to difficulties and engage in field-centered communication.

The mayor Heo's visit was arranged to share the current status of defense companies and seek ways to revitalize the defense industry, following Changwon City's selection in April as a pilot project for the Defense Industry Innovation Cluster. Mayor Heo held a meeting with executives including Executive Director Kwak Jong-woo of Hanwha Defense, and toured production sites such as the welding shop, processing shop, and assembly shop to listen to their difficulties.

Hanwha Defense plans to deliver K9 self-propelled howitzers and K10 ammunition resupply armored vehicles worth 213.2 billion KRW to Norway starting this year, and also plans to supply K9 self-propelled howitzers worth 43.3 billion KRW to Estonia. Therefore, they are focusing on developing advanced new products such as defense robots and remote firing control systems.

Mayor Heo Seong-moo said, “Changwon City is establishing plans such as R&D for defense companies, operation of parts localization research labs, and technical support for small and medium enterprises,” and added, “We ask Hanwha Defense to cooperate organically with the Defense Industry Innovation Cluster to discover general and core parts localization items, focusing on partner small and medium enterprises.”

He continued, “We will make practical efforts so that early achievements in defense parts localization and economic ripple effects through import substitution can lead to the revitalization of the local defense industry.”

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