By Lee Jon-young

"Our defense industry is writing a new history by creating something out of nothing," said President Yoon Suk-yeol on Oct. 17 at the opening ceremony of the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (AEDX) 2023.

In his congratulatory remarks, Yoon said, "The country that used to rely on aid and imports has now made a leap to the level of producing and exporting state-of-the-art fighter jets."

"The weapons you see behind me are the products of your passion and challenges," he said, introducing a number of Korean-made weapons, including the KF-21 supersonic fighter, the first exported fighter, the FA-50 light attack aircraft, medium-range surface-to-air missiles (M-SAMs), and long-range surface-to-surface SAMs (L-SAMs).

"We are showing the future of our defense industry," he said, referring to the K9 self-propelled howitzer, which accounts for half of the world's self-propelled artillery market; the K-2 tank, which has the world's highest performance; the Surion, a Korean mobile helicopter; the Army's attack helicopter, the LAH small armed helicopter; the Redback, a next-generation high-tech armored vehicle; and the Cheonmoo multiple-launch rocket, which can deliver real-time precision strikes.

With 116 delegations from 57 countries, including senior military officials, defense company CEOs and buyers, attending the exhibition, President Yoon personally promoted the excellence of K-defense.

"This year's ADEX in Seoul is especially attended by the U.S. military," said President Yoon, "and you can see for yourself the overwhelming capabilities of the U.S.-ROK alliance, which has firmly defended liberal democracy with its blood."

This year's ADEX also featured U.S. strategic weapons, including the B-1B Lancer, a stealthy strategic bomber, the F-22, one of the world's most powerful stealth fighters, and the advanced EA-18G 'Growler'.

"The defense industry is a national strategic industry that supports our security and economy," said President Yoon. "Now, defense cooperation is expanding beyond the export of weapons to include the supply of equipment and parts, education and training, and research and development."

"We will enhance our global competitiveness by providing an ecosystem for the sustainable growth of our defense industry," he said. "We will build a defense and security cooperation system while sharing our growth experience with friendly countries."

"The key to victory in the future battlefield environment is aerospace technology and AI (artificial intelligence) digital technology," Yoon said, adding, "Our government is actively supporting the aerospace industry to lead the new space era with the goal of becoming one of the world's top five space technology powers."

"We will lead the aerospace industry's leap forward by closely cooperating with the public and private sectors, centered on the newly established Korea Aerospace Administration," he said. "We will accelerate the digital foundation of AI in military operations and provide policy support for the development of future air mobility technologies."

This year's ADEX, now in its 14th edition, attracted 550 exhibitors from 34 countries, making it the largest ever in terms of exhibition area.