Visit to Lockheed Martin, Cooperation in Gumi Defense Industry Innovation Cluster

Discussion on Economic and Industrial Cooperation with Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson

Deputy Governor Ha Dae-seong of Gyeongbuk Province is taking a commemorative photo with officials after a meeting at Lockheed Martin.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Dong-guk] Ha Dae-seong, Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs of Gyeongbuk Province, is visiting Atlanta, Dallas, and LA in the United States for 9 nights and 10 days from the 12th to the 21st (Korean time) to attend the Korean American Chamber of Commerce in the U.S. and to expand trade and attract investment from American companies.

On the 16th and 17th local time, he visited Dallas and held successive meetings with Steve Over, Head of External Relations at Lockheed Martin, and Eric Johnson, Mayor of Dallas.

At the meeting, he introduced the ‘Defense Innovation Cluster Project’ being promoted in Gumi City and discussed ways to expand trade and industrial cooperation between defense companies based in Gyeongbuk and companies in Dallas.

Lockheed Martin is the world's number one defense company, focusing on aerospace, weapons, defense, and information security, and has maintained a close collaborative relationship with the Korean government and defense companies for over 30 years.

Deputy Governor Ha introduced the progress of the ‘Defense Innovation Cluster Project’ centered on Gumi, promoted by Gyeongbuk Province, and requested Lockheed Martin’s active participation and strong cooperation for the successful attraction of the Defense Innovation Cluster.

The Defense Innovation Cluster Project is a project to establish an innovative growth ecosystem in the region through effective technology development, application, and commercialization support in five industrial sectors: space, semiconductors, AI, drones, and robots, promoted with about 25 billion KRW in central government budget support in cooperation with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration of the Ministry of National Defense.

On the afternoon of the 16th (local time), he also met with Eric Johnson, Mayor of Dallas, to expand economic exchanges and mutual cooperation projects and private exchanges between Dallas and Gyeongbuk Province.

Deputy Governor Ha Dae-sung is meeting with Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.

Deputy Governor Ha said, “Explaining Gyeongbuk’s major industries such as secondary battery materials and components, steel industry, and defense industry, it is an attractive market where investment can be made with confidence, so we ask more American companies to invest,” and proposed, “Let’s strengthen mutual cooperation among Dallas City, Gyeongbuk Province, and Gumi City regarding the Defense Innovation Cluster Project.”

Mayor Eric Johnson also introduced the history of defense industry development triggered by World War II and the major industries of Dallas, including global companies such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies, Bell Helicopter, and global IT companies such as Texas Instruments and AT&T, and responded, “Let’s seek active mutual cooperation between the two cities in the future.”

He then held a mutual exchange meeting with Kim Hyun-gyeom, President of the Dallas Korean Chamber of Commerce, and other executives, promoted Gyeongbuk’s excellent agricultural and marine food products, requested the Korean community’s cooperation to expand exports of Gyeongbuk agricultural products to the U.S., and discussed future plans to expand exports to the U.S.

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