Final Report Meeting on Establishing Attraction Strategies Held on the 31st
Realizing 'Gumi as the K-Defense New Industry Capital' ... Experts Discuss
On the 31st, Gumi City in Gyeongbuk held the 'Final Report Meeting on the Establishment of a Strategy for Attracting the Defense Parts Research Institute' at the International Trade Cooperation Office to attract a defense anchor institution, a core task for realizing 'Gumi as the K-Defense New Industry Capital.'
The meeting was attended by 14 defense industry experts, including Yang Tae-ho, the new head of Hanwha Systems Gumi Plant, Park Bae-ho, director of LIG Nex1, Professors Park Hong-seok and Choi Heon-ung from Kumoh National Institute of Technology, and Professors Im Heon-young and Park Jeong-su from Kyungwoon University.
Reflecting opinions from the mid-term report meeting held in August, various presentations were made on trends in domestic and international defense industry development, establishment trends of defense-related research institutions, attraction cases, the current status of Gumi's defense industry, potential and necessity for attracting defense anchor institutions, strategies for attracting the Defense Parts Research Institute, and development plans. Attendees exchanged in-depth opinions.
The city plans to actively pursue the attraction of the Defense Parts Research Institute based on the supplemented final results after comprehensively reviewing the research content presented at the final report meeting and the attendees' opinions.
Mayor Kim Jang-ho stated, "Based on a Gumi-tailored attraction strategy, we will attract the Defense Parts Research Institute to create a defense ecosystem where Gumi's defense system companies and small and medium enterprises grow together. Through this, we expect excellent defense companies from other regions to come to Gumi."
In April, the city was selected for the Defense Innovation Cluster project, laying the foundation for revitalizing the defense ecosystem. Internationally competitive companies such as Hanwha Systems and LIG Nex1, along with over 130 defense small and venture companies, are concentrated here, making it the largest domestic production base in the guided missile and surveillance reconnaissance fields (44% and 61%, respectively) and the second-largest defense sales city nationwide.
The interceptor missile 'Cheongung-II' produced in Gumi recently attracted attention with a contract worth 4.1 trillion KRW with the UAE last year, and expectations are rising among defense companies as a large-scale arms export contract is imminent following President Yoon Seok-yeol's visit to Saudi Arabia.
With excellent defense companies, universities and research institutions linked to new defense industry technologies, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration's one-stop support center for defense companies, Gumi Defense Venture Center, and Defense Promotion Project Group 2 located in Gumi, infrastructure supporting the entire cycle of 'research and development, testing and certification, prototype production, mass production, and quality assurance' is established. Additionally, the Gyeongbuk-Gumi Advanced Defense Industry Promotion Center and an unmanned surface vessel testbed are being developed to expand testing and certification facilities.
Despite Gumi being a defense city with excellent defense infrastructure and competitiveness, there is no headquarters of a national defense institution. The city aims to create an opportunity to leap forward as the 'K-Defense New Industry Capital Gumi' by continuously strengthening the competitiveness of the local defense industry and the electrical and electronics industry through attracting the Defense Parts Research Institute.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
