Expectations for Defense Industry Co-Growth and Aviation Industry Hub Leap with KAI Relocation
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) Rotary Wing Flight Center Investment Attraction Agreement Ceremony [Image source=Jinju-si]
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] On the 29th at 3 p.m., Jinju City, Gyeongnam Province, signed an investment agreement (MOU) for the establishment of the KAI rotary wing flight center at the headquarters of Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (hereinafter KAI), attended by Mayor Cho Gyu-il, CEO Ahn Hyun-ho, and other officials.
To revive the local economy, the city established a corporate attraction team in 2019 and recruited private investment experts with extensive corporate experience, securing the attraction of KAI, the only domestic aircraft manufacturing company, for the rotary wing flight center.
This agreement is the result of the city’s desire to overcome the economic recession caused by COVID-19 and leap forward as a mecca of the aerospace industry, aligning with KAI’s demand to secure dedicated rotary wing flight infrastructure.
Through the agreement, the city and KAI will provide administrative and financial support within the scope prescribed by relevant laws and regulations, and invest between 25 billion and 70 billion KRW in phases on approximately 135,000㎡ of land within the Gasan General Industrial Complex.
They also promised to strive to create jobs by prioritizing the hiring of citizens through the construction of the rotary wing aircraft flight center.
KAI, which signed the agreement that day, recently conducted development flight tests of the Light Armed Helicopter (LAH), developed with domestic technology, following the delivery ceremony of the first KF-21 Boramae, a domestically produced fighter jet.
The LAH, the main aircraft for operating the flight center, is the second domestically produced helicopter developed to replace the Army’s aging attack helicopters 500MD and AH-1S, with about 580 billion KRW invested in research and development and 6 trillion KRW planned for mass production.
KAI began development in June 2015, unveiled the first prototype in December 2018 after about three years, succeeded in the first flight in July 2019, and received a “provisionally fit for combat” certification from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration in December last year.
Mayor Cho said, “I sincerely thank the global aerospace giant for deciding to invest in our region,” and added, “Taking this decision as an opportunity, we will cooperate with nearby local governments such as Sacheon City and Goseong County, as well as relocated public institutions, to make western Gyeongnam the center of the global aerospace industry.”
Meanwhile, Jinju City investment attraction expert Choi Jin-su expressed his ambition, saying, “The attraction of KAI will improve the occupancy rate of the long-unsold Gasan General Industrial Complex and serve as a catalyst for development,” and “We will make it a central city of advanced aerospace industry in connection with the Gyeongnam Aerospace National Industrial Complex, scheduled for completion in 2022.”
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