Hong Nampyo, Changwon Special City Mayor, Welcomes Mercury Act Passage in National Assembly ... Expects Expansion of Defense Industry Exports

Request to Raise Capital Limit to Remove Future Export Contract Restrictions

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam, expressed strong support on the 29th for the passage of the amendment to the Export-Import Bank Act (hereinafter referred to as the Exim Bank Act), which raises the statutory capital limit of the Export-Import Bank, at the National Assembly plenary session.

Photo of Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon, attending the K9PL self-propelled howitzer shipment ceremony held in Changwon in October 2022.

Weapons system companies based in Changwon, such as Hanwha Aerospace and Hyundai Rotem, were facing the risk of cancellation despite having large export contracts due to the exhaustion of the Export-Import Bank's credit limit.

Fortunately, with the Exim Bank Act amendment, which increases the statutory capital limit from the current 15 trillion won to 25 trillion won, passing the National Assembly plenary session, the previously stalled second contracts for the K-9 self-propelled howitzer and K-2 tank with Poland are expected to proceed smoothly again.

Mayor Hong said, “With this wise decision by the National Assembly, the export expansion of the defense industry, a core sector of Changwon's economy, has been unlocked,” adding, “I hope efforts will be made to further raise the capital limit and to establish export finance support systems specialized for the defense sector so that export contracts are not restricted by institutional barriers like this in the future.”

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