Now is the golden time for South Gyeongsang's leap forward.
South Gyeongsang Gov. Park Wan-su said this in an interview with ChosunBiz on the 3rd, noting a major shift in the space and aviation industry. Park's plan is to complete a full life-cycle structure that encompasses development, production, and maintenance with an aviation MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) industrial complex and the Korea AeroSpace Administration as the two pillars, and to grow South Gyeongsang into a key hub in Northeast Asia.
Park called the Sacheon MRO industrial complex, which was completed on the 18th of last month, a "turning point that changes the structure of the domestic aviation industry." Since construction began in 2017, a total project expense of 180 billion won has been invested, and the complex has been created on a 300,000-square-meter site (about 90,750 pyeong). Maintenance facilities and hangars of Korea Aviation Engineering & Maintenance Service (KAEMS) and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) are currently located there.
Park said, "Aircraft maintenance has long had a high dependence on overseas, leading to large expense outflows," adding, "We now have a system in which development, production, and maintenance are all carried out in one region."
According to the aviation industry, the global aircraft maintenance market is expected to grow to more than 200 trillion won in the future. There are calls to train talent in line with the growing market size. Park said, "Through workforce training programs, we are producing specialists needed in the field," adding, "We will expand the industry into high value-added areas such as passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions, localization of aircraft parts, and AI-based maintenance systems."
The plan is also to develop it into a "civil-military complex MRO hub" that encompasses maintenance for military aircraft such as the KF-21 and FA-50, thereby securing a stable demand base.
Park also cited the launch of the Korea AeroSpace Administration, the control tower for space and aviation policy, as an important turning point. Park said, "Attracting the Korea AeroSpace Administration has extended the Seoul metropolitan-centered policy structure to South Gyeongsang," adding, "We will create a space and aviation complex city that concentrates research and development, industry, and education functions and grow it into a global cluster."
About 80% of the domestic space and aviation industry (based on 2024 revenue) is produced in South Gyeongsang, and with more than 100 related corporations and numerous research institutes clustered there, synergy between industry and academia is expected.
Park also emphasized the recovery trend across South Gyeongsang's economy and industry. Park said, "As mainstay industries such as shipbuilding and defense rebound, investment and employment are improving," adding, "Investment attraction in the 10 trillion won range is a signal that South Gyeongsang is back on a growth track."
In fact, South Gyeongsang Province's investment attraction last year reached a record high of 10.402 trillion won. It attracted 129 corporations and created 5,094 jobs, and for the entirety of the 8th popularly elected term, 543 corporations and 32.8069 trillion won in investments were brought in.
Park cited "restoring trust" as a key achievement of the term. Park said, "The 8th popularly elected administration has been a time of restoring trust by keeping promises with residents," adding, "Receiving the highest grade for four consecutive years in the pledge implementation evaluation is the result of that effort." Park added, "Integrity also improved from Grade 4 in 2021 to Grade 1 in 2024, and in the joint government assessment, we recorded the highest-ever level of goal attainment."
Park also laid out a balanced development strategy. Park said, "We are actively responding to the second transfer of public institutions in the Seoul metropolitan area and the decentralization of national functions to the provinces," adding, "The key is for the relocated institutions to be organically connected with local industries, universities, and research institutes to create new jobs and industries."
Park continued, "We will foster the South Coast as a 'second economic zone' to match the Seoul metropolitan area and reorganize it into a mega-regional economic zone that combines marine, tourism, logistics, and industry," adding, "We are strengthening the cooperation base that links South Gyeongsang, South Jeolla, and Busan into a single living and economic zone."
As a future task, Park pointed to enacting the Special Act on Building a Space and Aviation Complex City. Park said, "We need to build a cluster where industry, academia, and research are concentrated to create a structure that attracts talent and corporations," adding, "We will complete the industrial ecosystem centered on the Sacheon MRO complex and the Korea AeroSpace Administration."