The Ministry of National Defense has launched an audit into why the Korea International Defense Industry Exhibition (KADEX) held in 2024 proceeded while use of the Gyeryongdae emergency runway was restricted. The ministry said it would look into why use of the emergency runway—an essential facility for military aircraft takeoffs and landings—was restricted for several months for an exhibition that lasted only five days.
According to the defense industry on the 22nd, the Office of the Inspector General at the Ministry of National Defense is determining how the Army Association, which organizes KADEX, obtained permission in 2024 to use the Gyeryongdae emergency runway. KADEX ran from Oct. 2 to 6, 2024, in two tents set up over about 5,000 pyeong (16,500 square meters) on the Gyeryongdae emergency runway in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong, and use of the emergency runway was restricted for about four months.
The legal basis for the Ministry of National Defense's audit is Article 30 of the State Property Act. The provision allows permission to use administrative property only to the extent that it does not hinder its purpose or function. However, the tents for KADEX 2024 were reportedly installed in a way that completely covered the diagonal section of the Gyeryongdae emergency runway where aircraft taxi and take off.
There are also complaints that KADEX was held without properly following procedures for hosting the event. The Army Association, which organized KADEX at the time, did not submit a separate security pledge, and the Gyeryongdae base support unit also did not verify whether it had been submitted. The Army Association is a civilian group composed of Army veterans.
Because of this, some inside and outside the military questioned whether the Ministry of National Defense favored the Army Association. A military official said, "It is very difficult to use an emergency runway, but KADEX received approval unusually easily." The official added, "Unlike DX Korea, another Army ground weapons exhibition, KADEX was selected for state subsidy support, and many senior military officials visited."
Currently, domestic Army ground weapons exhibitions are divided between KADEX and DX Korea. For more than 10 years, the Army Association and the private exhibition and convention company IDK jointly ran the event under the name DX Korea, but they split in 2024 after conflicts over revenue sharing.
As it began an audit of KADEX's use of the emergency runway in 2024, the Ministry of National Defense decided not to permit its use this year. With the ground weapons exhibition already split in two and the possibility that KADEX's venue could also change, domestic defense companies are facing confusion.
An executive at a mid-sized defense company said, "KADEX was held two years ago in tents set up on the emergency runway, but participation fees were at a similar level to the International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) held at KINTEX," adding, "Because the exhibition organizers are 'big spenders' with influence in weapons procurement, mid-sized and small defense companies have no choice but to participate and shoulder the expense despite the burden."
An official at the Ministry of National Defense said, "All requests for permission to use, including those from the Army Association, can be approved only within the scope of Article 30 of the State Property Act," adding, "We plan to confirm the issues raised through this audit."