South Korea holds largest defense exhibition ever

Held every two years, this year's ADEX 2023 event will bring together around 550 companies from 35 countries around the world - the largest number since the event was first held in 1996. This year's exhibition will also have the largest foreign delegation in history, with more than 450 military and defense officials from 54 countries attending. The event, which takes place from October 17 to 22, is expected to attract around 30,000 visitors.

According to KBS, along with the presence of the B-52, a heavy, long-range strategic bomber, and the US Air Force's F-22 Raptor fighter, which is considered the world's most modern and powerful fighter jet; one of the highlights of Seoul ADEX 2023 is the launch of the KF-21 Boramae fighter jet produced in Korea. The KF-21 project, worth more than 6.6 billion USD, aims to make Korea one of the few countries in the world to successfully develop supersonic fighter jets.

Mr. Lee Jong-ho, representative of the Seoul ADEX 2023 Organizing Committee, affirmed that with more than 450 senior defense officials from 54 countries expected to attend the event, this will be an opportunity for the Korean defense industry to attract international attention and "take a giant step forward."

Seoul ADEX 2023 takes place in the context that South Korea aims to capture 5% of the global arms export market share by 2027 to become the world's fourth-largest arms exporter.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of ADEX 2023, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged to enhance the competitiveness of the defense industry, emphasizing that this sector is a new miracle in the history of Korean development.

Last year, President Yoon Suk Yeol announced that South Korea aims to become the world's fourth-largest defense exporter by 2027. To secure at least a 5 percent share of the global arms market, Seoul has pledged to invest 1 trillion won ($740 million) in research and development by 2027.

“South Korea, which used to depend on aid and imports, has now leaped to independence in the production and export of advanced fighter jets. The defense industry is a national strategic industry that supports defense and the economy, ” he said.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, South Korea accounted for 2.4% of the total global arms export market share from 2018 to 2022, ranking 9th in the world, after the US, Russia, France, China, Germany, Italy, the UK and Spain.

During the same period, South Korea's arms exports increased by 74%, while Russia, China, Britain and Spain's fell by between 4% and 35%.

The South Korean government has set a target of $20 billion in defense exports this year after achieving a record $17.3 billion in arms sales in 2022, including major contracts with Poland for tanks, artillery, fighter jets and missiles./.

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