Polish President Visits Hanwha Aero... Kim Dong-kwan "Working Together for Peace and Security"

At the welcome ceremony for the visit of the President of Poland held on the 25th at Hanwha Aerospace Changwon Plant 3, Kim Dong-kwan, Vice Chairman of Hanwha Group, is applauding while watching the live equipment demonstration of K9, Cheonmu, and others with President Andrzej Duda, Seok Jong-geon, Administrator of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and other attendees. Photo by Hanwha Aerospace

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Kim Dong-kwan, Vice Chairman of Hanwha Group, met with Andrzej Duda, President of Poland, and confirmed their deep mutual trust built over the past decade of defense industry cooperation. During his visit to Korea, President Duda recognized Hanwha's "integrated defense capabilities" across land, sea, and air sectors and agreed on the importance of working together for peace and security between the two countries.

Hanwha Aerospace announced that President Duda, on a state visit, visited Hanwha Aerospace's Changwon 3 plant in Changwon Special City, Gyeongnam Province, on the 25th. This marks the first time a foreign head of state has visited a Hanwha facility.

President Duda toured key production lines, including the K9 self-propelled howitzer, alongside Vice Chairman Kim, and discussed ways to expand defense cooperation between Hanwha and Poland. The event was attended by over 100 people, including Vice Chairman Kim, President Duda, Seok Jong-geon, Administrator of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, Hong Nam-pyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, Lim Hun-min, Ambassador of Korea to Poland, Won Jong-dae, Director of Defense Policy at the Ministry of National Defense, Shin Sang-beom, President of the Defense Technology Quality Institute, Jacek Cie?la, Secretary of the National Security Bureau of Poland, and Son Jae-il, CEO of Hanwha Aerospace.

Before touring the production lines, President Duda observed demonstrations of about ten weapon systems, including the K9, Cheonmu, multipurpose unmanned vehicles, the Cheongung (Sky Bow) medium-range surface-to-air missile launcher, and the wheeled armored personnel carrier Tigon.

Vice Chairman Kim introduced President Duda to the latest combat armored vehicle, Redback, and the Batch-II deployment of the Jangbogo-III (KSS-III) submarine proposed to Poland. President Duda also toured facilities related to aircraft engines and small SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites, expressing amazement and satisfaction with Hanwha's integrated land, sea, and air defense solutions.

In his welcoming speech, Vice Chairman Kim said, "This year marks a meaningful decade since we signed the contract to supply K9 chassis to Poland in 2014. Korea and Poland have worked together as strategic partners defending freedom and democracy to lead international peace."

Since exporting over 120 K9 chassis to Poland in 2014, Hanwha signed export contracts worth a total of 8.2 trillion KRW in 2022, including 212 K9 units and 218 Cheonmu (Homar-K) units. Last year, a second contract worth 5.6 trillion KRW was signed for 152 K9 units and 72 Cheonmu units.

Vice Chairman Kim emphasized, "Through technology transfer and localization, we will not only strengthen Poland's defense capabilities but also jointly pursue exports to third countries, contributing to economic revitalization. We will grow as a trusted partner of NATO."

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