Changwon City Aims for Annual Defense Sales of 10 Trillion Won, Promoting as a 'Global Leading Defense Industry City'

Hanwha Defense 15 Trillion · Hyundai Rotem 16 Trillion, Targeting 100 Trillion Won by 2030

Changwon Mayor Heo Seong-mu expressed his determination to achieve a cumulative defense sales revenue of 100 trillion won by 2030 during a press conference at the City Hall Press Center on the 23rd. (Photo by Changwon City)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Choi Hyun-joo] Changwon City, Gyeongnam Province, announced on the 23rd that it has presented a concrete strategy to achieve cumulative defense industry sales of 100 trillion won by 2030.

Mayor Heo Seong-mu of Changwon held a press conference at 11 a.m. at the City Hall Press Center under the theme "Leap to a Global Top-tier Defense Industry City by 2030." Through this conference, Mayor Heo presented specific promotion strategies and visions to achieve annual sales of 10 trillion won by 2030 for small and medium defense companies.

Mayor Heo shared news such as Hanwha Defense being selected as the primary supplier for the 1 trillion won scale Australian K9 self-propelled howitzer, and Hyundai Rotem embarking on the 10 trillion won scale K2 tank Poland next-generation tank project, while cheering on the successes of Hanwha Aerospace, S&T Heavy Industries, and Yulgok defense companies.

According to the city, the projected overseas orders by 2030 are estimated to be around 35 trillion won, which is about eight times the total defense industry sales of 4.5 trillion won in Changwon as of 2018. The value-added creation scale of system companies through this is analyzed to have a trickle-down effect of about 30-40% to partner companies. The city expects that when total sales of 100 trillion won are achieved by 2030, benefits worth 30-40 trillion won will return to partner companies.

Changwon plans to invest a budget of 368 billion won through 27 projects in four major areas to ensure these benefits are evenly distributed to small and medium defense companies in the region: ▲ Establishing a mid- to long-term strategy for defense industry development ▲ Supporting R&D for small and medium enterprises through the construction of a defense industry cluster ▲ Systematic support for defense exports ▲ Building a smart infrastructure advanced ecosystem.

Mayor Heo said, “This was made possible thanks to bold support from related innovation institutions such as the Ministry of National Defense and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, along with the development of Changwon’s defense industry. Over the next 10 years, by achieving the goal of 10 trillion won in annual defense sales, we will revitalize the stagnant Changwon industry and become a cornerstone for national economic revival.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.