Text Fwd: Int'l aerospace forum opens in Gyeongju

Korea Times
09-08-2010
[Int'l aerospace forum opens in Gyeongju
By Jung Sung-ki

GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province _ Scores of aerospace industry experts at home and abroad gathered in Gyeongju Sept. 7 to hold a forum on the future of the domestic aircraft industry.

The Gyeongbuk International Aero Forum 2010 opened at Gyeongju Hilton Hotel. The theme of the two-day forum is “Nurturing Strategy of Aero Parts Industry.”

“The forum will stimulate the interchange of the most modern technologies of the next-generation aerospace parts industry, helping to find mutual cooperation based on the ‘aero parts industry strategy,’” Governor Kim Kwan-yong of North Gyeongsang Province said in his welcoming message.

“The forum will establish opportunities for sharing political and technical information in the field of aerospace. Plus, the forum might help domestic and foreign industrial circles and academia to respond to the high oil price and dramatic climate change,” the governor said.

The forum is co-hosted by the province and Yeongcheon City. It is organized by Gyeongbuk Technopark, the Korea Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences and the Korea Defense & Security Forum.

“South Korea develops and produces lots of aircraft now, but most aircraft parts are imported from other nations,” Retired Maj. Gen. Lee Jin-hak, a head of the Aerospace Technology Innovation Center, told The Korea Times. “This forum, against that backdrop, will help come up with measures to boost the domestic aircraft parts industry.”

South Korea’s Air Force has often faced difficulties supplying aging aircraft with relevant spare parts, so that the government should spend about 500 to 600 billion won every year to obtain those from foreign nations, Lee said.

Once the domestic aircraft spare parts industry grows, such expenditures would be saved to a greater extent, which will then lead to a remarkable development in the aerospace industry, he added.

A roadmap to develop an indigenous fighter aircraft is also a key agenda item for the forum with four debate sessions.

The government plans to develop an F-16+ class KF-X jet by 2020 in partnership with foreign nations to replace the aging fleet of F-4 and F-5 aircraft.

Key participants at the forum include Joseph Song, vice president of Asia-Pacific international business development with Boeing Defense, Space and Security; Maj. Gen. Choi Cha-kyu, director general of DAPA’s aircraft programs’ bureau; Cho Jin-soo, dean of the college of engineering at Hanyang University in Seoul; Bryant C. Jublou, regional director of Pratt & Whitney Military Engine Program; Maj. Gen. Lee Sang-gil, commander of the Air Force Logistics Command; and Yoon Cha-young, vice president of the Korea Aerospace Industries Assocation.

Sponsors include the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and the Air Force Logistics Command.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr