The National Assembly and the public, private, and academic sectors established the Aerospace Industry Development Forum to promote the construction of an aerospace complex city to revitalize the aerospace industry.

On Wednesday, the 10th, the 'Inaugural General Meeting of the Aerospace Industry Development Forum and Policy Debate on Plans for the Construction of a Space Complex City' was held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. National Assembly Member Seo Cheon-ho, Kang Gu-young, President of the Korea Aerospace Industry Promotion Association, and Kwak Shin-ung, President of the Korean Society for Defense and Space Sciences, participate as co-representatives of the Aerospace Industry Development Forum.

In his opening remarks, Rep. Seo Cheon-ho of the People Power Party, co-representative of the Aerospace Industry Development Forum, argued, "Aerospace complex cities should be designed not merely as technology hubs, but as self-sufficient cities where research and development, education, and residential environments are integrated." He further asserted that the construction of aerospace complex cities should be designated as a national priority, requiring national technological capabilities and public-private cooperation.

Representative Seo Cheon-ho introduced the 'Special Act on the Construction and Development of Space and Aviation Complex Cities (Space and Aviation Complex City Act)' as the first bill of the 22nd National Assembly on May 31. This plan centers on developing Sacheon City, home to the Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA), and the surrounding Gyeongnam region into an aerospace complex city, along with the special regulatory provisions necessary for this purpose.

The Aerospace Industry Development Forum was established with the purpose of: △realizing a pan-national response to the aerospace industry and policy and legislative governance; △presenting a vision for practical directions for the development of the aerospace industry; △identifying legislative and detailed policy tasks and preparing alternatives at the level of the 22nd National Assembly; and △cooperating and solidarizing with government officials, experts, academia, and private organizations related to aerospace.

Specifically, it promotes △enactment and amendment of laws and legislative activities △holding forums, seminars, and lectures △visiting domestic and international space industry sites △publishing regular newsletters and data collections.

We promote government policy trends for SMEs, improvements to policy systems for reusable launch vehicles, satellite communications, and AAM (Advanced Air Mobility), and the development of platforms to create new growth opportunities for the aerospace industry.

Following the forum's inaugural general meeting, a policy discussion was held to devise measures for realizing the construction of an aerospace complex city. The event featured keynote presentations by National University President Kwon Jin-hoe and Gyeongnam Research Fellow Kim Jong-seong, followed by a panel discussion among experts from various fields.

Kwon Jin-hoe, President of Gyeongsang National University, stated, "The aerospace industry must secure competitiveness by identifying large-scale business-viable sectors for private companies," adding, "While Hanwha and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) are representative companies in Korea, we must foster small and medium-sized enterprises and startups."

Kim Jong-seong, a research fellow at the Gyeongnam Institute, emphasized, "It is necessary to foster manpower, discover jobs, and complete the relocation of KARI to bring the entire Gyeongnam region, including Sacheon, to a competitive level even when compared to the Seoul metropolitan area."