Gyeongnam Province, Leaping Forward as a Hub for Defense Industry Materials and Components

"Catching Two Rabbits: Revitalizing the Local Economy and Creating Quality Jobs"

Governor Kim Kyung-soo (center) is signing a business agreement on materials and components with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and Changwon City for the 'Gyeongnam Changwon Defense Industry Innovation Cluster.' (Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] On the 16th, Gyeongnam Province, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and Changwon City signed a business agreement at Changwon City Hall to officially launch the 'Gyeongnam Changwon Defense Industry Innovation Cluster' project.

The Defense Industry Innovation Cluster project was selected in April as the nation's first project by Gyeongnam Province and Changwon City. It promotes 10 detailed implementation tasks across four areas: establishing a defense industry innovation foundation, supporting research and development of defense materials and components, supporting commercialization for small and medium venture businesses, and supporting startups and job creation. The project budget totals 48.3 billion KRW over five years.

According to the four areas of the business agreement, the scope of support will be expanded beyond technology development support to include corporate support and startup support, thereby providing full-cycle support for technological innovation and export activation of defense companies within the province.

The goal of this agreement is to support the development, localization, and advancement of core materials and components in the defense sector.

Governor Kim Kyung-soo said before the event, "About 30% of the nation's designated defense industry companies are located in Gyeongnam," adding, "The defense industry has significant forward and backward linkage effects and is an industry that creates great synergy with Gyeongnam's manufacturing sector."

The province plans to actively foster defense-related companies within the province to secure world-class technological competitiveness and establish themselves as the main drivers of regional economic growth in the defense industry.

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