Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan has been confirmed to have traveled to Romania via Poland for "Redback sales." Romania is pushing a bid for Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV) worth about 4 trillion won, raising the possibility of Redback exports by Hanwha Aerospace. Romania has already imported the K9. In July last year, Hanwha Aerospace signed a 1.4 trillion won "self-propelled howitzer package" for 54 K9 self-propelled howitzers and 36 K10 ammunition resupply vehicles.
According to the business community on the 22nd, Vice Chairman Kim visited Poland to meet senior defense officials and then moved to Romania's capital, Bucharest.
On the 21st (local time), Vice Chairman Kim, together with a special delegation including Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, who visited Romania as a "special envoy for strategic economic cooperation" in the defense sector, paid courtesy calls on Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and Minister of National Defense Liviu-Ionuș Moșteanu.
At the meeting, Chief of Staff Kang delivered a personal letter from President Lee Jae-myung. Hanwha Aerospace CEO Son Jae-il also joined this business trip. The Hanwha delegation met Senate Speaker Mircea Abrudean.
The government is focusing on Romania with the goal of becoming one of the "four major defense powerhouses." Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-baek met Romanian Minister of Economy Radu Dînel Mîruță on the 20th and asked for interest in the Redback and Hyundai Rotem K2 tanks.
Romania is currently pushing to purchase tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicles to replace its aging Soviet-made armored vehicles. The quantity is about 246 units, and the project is worth about 2.5 billion to 3 billion euros (about 4.15 trillion to 4.98 trillion won). In particular, the contract includes not only vehicles but also training simulators and initial logistics support. If more than 50 units are additionally introduced as reserve and strategic stockpiles after 2031, the quantity could increase to a total of 300 units.
In this project, Hanwha is competing with Germany's Rheinmetall, the United Kingdom's BAE Systems, and the United States' General Dynamics European Land Systems.
Hanwha's strengths are fast delivery and local production. To enable local production of the K9 and K10, Hanwha will build a local plant in the first quarter of next year. The K9 and K10 will be produced there, and if Redback exports succeed, the Redback may also be built locally.
Afterward, Vice Chairman Kim plans to move to Oslo, Norway, to promote K-defense and shipbuilding sales. Norway operates K9 self-propelled howitzers and is steadily increasing its defense spending. Hanwha is also seeking to win a 1.38 trillion won contract to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers being pursued by Norwegian energy company Equinor.
An official in the defense industry said, "Because Romania is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), it is highly likely to procure European weapons, but considering fast delivery and price, Hanwha also has a sufficient chance of winning the order, so Vice Chairman Kim and the government are putting in a lot of effort."