Changwon City Holds Meeting with Defense Industry Workplace Labor Union Council

K2 Tank Demand Increase Proposal and Other Issues Addressed Through Collaborative Discussions

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] On the 23rd, Changwon City in Gyeongnam held a meeting with representatives of the Changwon regional defense industry labor union council at City Hall.

At the meeting, 10 representatives of the labor union council attended, including Kim Sanghap, head of the Hyundai Rotem Changwon Plant labor union branch, as well as heads of the labor union branches of Perstek, Hyundai Wia, and Doosan Heavy Industries.

Mayor Heo Seong-mu, Director Ryu Hyo-jong of the Smart Innovation Industry Bureau, and Manager Jeong Jin-seong of the Strategic Industry Division attended to discuss current issues at defense industry workplaces.

In Changwon, among the 89 nationally designated defense industry companies, 20 companies and over 200 partner companies are located mainly in the Changwon National Industrial Complex.

The number of defense industry workers exceeds 100,000. The city organized the meeting to jointly consider measures for employment stability and job creation for these workers.

At the meeting, Kim Sanghap, head of the Hyundai Rotem labor union branch, requested that the city take the lead in increasing the demand for K2 tanks.

Kim emphasized, "The quantity of the third batch production of K2 tanks has been reduced to half of the second batch, and about 1,100 domestic small and medium partner companies are facing closure due to lack of work. To ensure the survival of partner companies and secure export competitiveness of the K2 tank, domestic demand must increase."

Kim Seong-wan, head of the Motrol labor union branch, urged an increase in the budget for ground defense equipment.

Kim said, "The Changwon industrial complex mainly operates a production system focused on ground defense equipment, but due to the decrease and production termination of ground defense equipment, the operating rate is only about 50%. Strong government export support and budget increases for early and additional domestic allocation are urgently needed."

In addition, the labor union council proposed the prompt decision to domestically produce the 'powerpack transmission' of the K2 tank and improvements to the unreasonable evaluation system applied to medium-sized enterprises.

Mayor Heo stated, "We will work to ensure that the proposals are well coordinated with relevant ministries and political circles so that legal and institutional improvements can be made, allowing large corporations and medium and small enterprises to grow evenly."

The city and the labor union council agreed to continue discussing ways to revitalize the regional economy based on the defense industry through additional meetings in the future.

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