Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik left for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the afternoon of the 13th to discuss cooperation with Middle Eastern countries in the fields of "K-defense industry" and artificial intelligence (AI). Appointed on Oct. 17 as President Lee Jae-myung's special envoy for strategic economic cooperation, this is his fourth destination after visits to Poland, Romania, and Norway. This time, he will visit the UAE and Saudi Arabia to craft plans for economic cooperation. The idea is for the presidential office to directly play the role of a "defense industry sales control tower" to realize the state task of "leaping into the world's top four defense powers."
Before departure that afternoon, Kang met with reporters at Incheon International Airport and said, "The Middle East is an indispensable and very important region for our economy," adding, "To continuously expand and develop the results of cooperation so far, the methods and areas of cooperation must also change in line with the shifting international landscape."
Kang plans to meet with top-level officials of the UAE and Saudi Arabia and decision-makers at sovereign wealth funds to devise cooperation plans in ▲ AI ▲ defense industry ▲ manufacturing in advanced industrial sectors ▲ K-food ▲ K-culture. He said, "The president said that if it can safeguard the national interest and create even a bit of national wealth, we should not hesitate to visit any country," adding, "Based on the results we produce, I hope we can also push for joint entry into third countries such as neighboring nations or Europe."
This "defense industry envoy" trip comes ahead of the Dubai Airshow, the Middle East's largest aviation industry exhibition, to be held in the UAE next week. Using this as an opportunity, the presidential office expects to encourage the introduction of domestically made weapons such as the Korean supersonic fighter KF-21 and to support export efforts by domestic companies. The UAE is in fact said to be showing interest in procuring Korean weapons including the KF-21. In 2022, the UAE became the first Middle Eastern country to introduce Korea's medium-range surface-to-air missile Cheongung II, signing a contract worth about 4 trillion won at the time.