Gyeongnam Governor Park Wan-su: "We Will Actively Support Becoming One of the Top 4 Defense Exporting Countries"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] “We will actively support Gyeongnam in advancing South Korea as one of the world's top four defense industry exporters.”

Gyeongnam Governor Park Wan-su made this statement on the afternoon of the 19th when he met with Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Administrator Eom Dong-hwan.

On this day, Governor Park and Administrator Eom shared government policy directions related to the defense industry and discussed current issues.

Governor Park Wansu of Gyeongnam Province (right) and Director Eom Donghwan of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration are shaking hands at a meeting on defense industry issues.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

Governor Park said, “I am grateful that the issues proposed by the province at last November's defense export strategy meeting were reflected in government policies,” adding, “We have established the Gyeongnam Defense Industry Promotion Comprehensive Plan (2023?2027), which includes five major areas and 29 detailed tasks covering systematic development, research and development, export support, and infrastructure of the defense industry, a future growth engine for Gyeongnam.”

He further proposed reflecting the key tasks from the comprehensive plan into DAPA policies, establishing the Defense Parts Research Institute to lead the localization of defense components, and creating a specialized defense industry complex.

He stated, “Gyeongnam is the largest domestic hub for the defense industry, with over 50% of the nation's defense companies and workers gathered here,” and added, “We will elevate defense technology in Gyeongnam to the next level and continue to drive defense exports.”

He also said, “Given the many research and development projects and the long-term nature of the defense sector, I agree on the necessity of enacting the Defense Acquisition Contract Act for the future of South Korea,” and expressed hope that it would be pursued reasonably with the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Administrator Eom said, “Gyeongnam Province has provided valuable opinions on the defense industry, and we are actively promoting them,” adding, “We will join forces with Gyeongnam to continue the record-high defense export performance of $17.3 billion last year and implement policies that companies need on the ground.”

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