World's Largest Regional Aircraft Manufacturer 'Embraer' Partners with Gyeongbuk Province to Establish Aviation Industry Foundation

Lee Cheol-woo and Vice President Holmes Sign Business Agreement

Jet Passenger Plane Ulleungdo Test Flight

On the 15th at 10:30 a.m., Gyeongbuk Province will sign an 'Aviation Industry Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)' with Embraer, the world's largest manufacturer of small and medium-sized aircraft, at Pohang Gyeongju Airport.

Embraer, headquartered in Brazil, is a global aircraft manufacturer with approximately 18,000 employees and maintains a leading position with about a 30% market share in the small and medium-sized aircraft sector with fewer than 150 seats.

An airplane produced by Embraer, a world-renowned aircraft manufacturer.

To date, it has delivered more than 8,000 aircraft, with annual sales amounting to approximately 5 billion USD (about 6.5 trillion KRW).

The signing ceremony will be attended by Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province; Martyn Holmes, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Embraer; Marcia Donner, Brazilian Ambassador to Korea; Park Yong-seon, Vice Chairman of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council; Lee Mi-ae, Vice President of Korea Airports Corporation; and about 100 other attendees.

Through this agreement, Gyeongbuk Province and Embraer will mutually cooperate in promoting the Gyeongsangbuk-do aviation industry, consulting and advising on sharing information and best practices related to the aviation industry, and establishing and developing maintenance and training support facilities within Gyeongsangbuk-do related to the aviation industry.

Gyeongbuk Province plans to use this MOU as a stepping stone to build a foundation for the local aviation industry.

In fact, with no aircraft manufacturers or aviation maintenance companies currently in the province, the plan is to establish aviation industry-related infrastructure such as small and medium-sized aircraft MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) facilities and training support facilities, led by a global aircraft manufacturer as a leading company.

After the signing ceremony, about 80 participants will board Embraer's flagship jet passenger aircraft, the E190-E2, for a demonstration flight departing from Pohang Gyeongju Airport, circling Ulleungdo for about 80 minutes, and returning.

The E190-E2 model is a next-generation new aircraft produced by Embraer, which began commercial operations in 2018.

According to Embraer, the E190-E2 model is characterized by 'short runway takeoff and landing performance (capable of takeoff and landing on 1,200m runways)' and 'excellent range (up to 6 hours).' It is an economically efficient and safe model chosen by advanced European countries including Switzerland, as well as Singapore Airlines.

Martyn Holmes, Chief Commercial Officer of Embraer, said, "Since its establishment in 1969, Embraer has grown into one of the world's top three aircraft manufacturers over the past 50 years through continuous technological development and innovation. We expect that the aviation industry cooperation agreement between Embraer and Gyeongsangbuk-do will develop into a win-win partnership in many fields in the future."

Marcia Donner, Brazilian Ambassador to Korea, said, "Embraer is a global company playing an important role in the aerospace industry worldwide, and through this MOU, we expect it will greatly contribute not only to R&D cooperation but also to strengthening the partnership between the two countries."

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, said, "All of South Korea's aviation industries?passenger, logistics, MRO, infrastructure, and services?are concentrated around Incheon Airport in the metropolitan area. Now is the time to revitalize regional airports for balanced national development and to change the landscape of South Korea's aviation industry."

He added, "Gyeongbuk Province will do its best to continuously attract global aviation companies and foster new aviation industries through cooperation with Embraer, aiming to develop Daegu Gyeongbuk New Airport into a hub for South Korea's air logistics and to develop Pohang Gyeongju Airport and Ulleung Airport into world-class tourist airports."

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