Changwon Special City Presents Appreciation Plaques to Companies Contributing to Defense Industry Development

Five Companies Including K-Defense Hanwha Aerospace and Hyundai Rotem Selected

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam selected defense companies as the '2022 Defense Industry Development Meritorious Companies' and held an appreciation plaque award ceremony.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Song Jong-gu] On the afternoon of the 29th, Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam held an appreciation plaque ceremony selecting representative defense industry companies in Changwon that have enhanced the status of K-Defense with the development of the defense industry and record-breaking export performance as the ‘2022 Defense Industry Development Meritorious Companies.’

The 2022 Defense Industry Development Meritorious Companies are ▲Hanwha Aerospace ▲Hyundai Rotem ▲Kifco Electronics & Aviation ▲Ilsin Hightech ▲LK Tech, five companies in total. The city presented appreciation plaques in the name of the Changwon Special City Mayor to each company.

Hanwha Aerospace, the only aircraft engine manufacturer in South Korea, merged with its defense subsidiary Hanwha Defense in November, emerging as a global defense company. It is a leading Korean defense company exporting to nine countries worldwide, dominating the global self-propelled artillery market with the premium K9 self-propelled howitzer, and producing armored vehicles and unmanned ground robots for future battlefields.

Hyundai Rotem, a representative system company in South Korea’s defense industry producing state-of-the-art ground equipment for over 40 years, developed the K2 Black Panther tank and successfully exported it to Poland this year following domestic deployment.

These two companies significantly elevated the global status of K-Defense with record-breaking export achievements totaling 15.2314 trillion KRW to four countries?Poland, Norway, Egypt, and the UAE?in 2022. They also contribute greatly to regional industrial development by striving for win-win cooperation and mutual growth with small and medium-sized defense companies in Changwon.

Additionally, small and medium-sized enterprises contributing to the localization of core defense industry components, regional industrial development, and economic revitalization include Kifco Electronics & Aviation, a manufacturer of key defense parts for cutting-edge aircraft engines and cryptographic security equipment; Ilsin Hightech, a precision parts manufacturer related to the defense industry producing satellite propulsion systems and aviation actuator components; and LK Tech, an electrical and electronics specialist developing military electronic components and automated testing equipment.

Hong Nam-pyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, stated, “With the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s defense industry promotion policy and favorable export performance, the defense industry is expected to develop beyond self-defense into a future national growth industry as an export industry. Through attracting Changwon National Industrial Complex 2.0 and establishing advanced large-scale equipment, we will actively provide policy and administrative support necessary for innovation growth and economic foundation building by attracting defense companies and leveraging Changwon’s characteristics and strengths.”

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