2026 Sacheon Airshow opens as South Gyeongsang Province targets aerospace investment

The 2026 Sacheon Airshow, co-hosted by the Republic of Korea Air Force, South Gyeongsang Province, Sacheon city and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), opened Thursday at Sacheon Air Base. Running through Sunday, the four-day event has expanded beyond its traditional format of aircraft displays and aerobatic performances to incorporate the Global Aerospace Defense Exhibition (GADEX), business consultations and export meetings.

The South Gyeongsang Province Investment Agency, an affiliate of the South Gyeongsang Province Investment and Economic Promotion Institute, is using the airshow to court domestic and foreign companies in the aerospace and defense sectors. This year's edition is the largest in the show's history, introducing a business-to-business program modeled on Seoul ADEX and drawing air force chiefs of staff from 29 countries along with more than 20 top-tier overseas corporate buyers. The agency plans to use the event's scale and the breadth of corporate participation to identify prospective investors.

The agency is running a joint promotion booth at the venue with the Hadong office of the Gwangyang Bay Free Economic Zone Authority. Staff are briefing domestic and foreign company representatives on key investment sites — including the South Gyeongsang Aerospace National Industrial Complex in the Jinju-Sacheon district and the Hadong Daesong Industrial Complex — as well as investment success stories from companies already operating in the province and the tailored subsidy and incentive programs available.

The agency plans to walk companies through the industrial conditions and support available at each site based on their specific needs, and to hold detailed consultations with firms at the investment-review stage. During the event, it will gather information on the investment interests and pain points of companies it identifies, and work with co-participating organizations to address issues raised on the spot.

The agency intends to highlight the province's industrial infrastructure alongside domestic defense companies based there — including KAI in Sacheon and Hanwha Aerospace, Hyundai Rotem and Hyundai Wia in Changwon. It will also hold one-on-one consultations targeting global defense firms such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Rolls-Royce, as well as major domestic and foreign partners, that are considering new investments or the establishment or expansion of production facilities.

The agency plans to maintain close contact with promising investor leads identified during the event and continue follow-up discussions after the airshow concludes, with the aim of converting that interest into investment agreements, factory ground-breakings and other tangible outcomes.

"The Sacheon Airshow is an opportunity to showcase South Gyeongsang Province's competitiveness in the aerospace and defense industries and its locational strengths on the world stage," said Park Yu-jin, a project manager at the South Gyeongsang Province Investment Agency. "We will do everything we can to present investment conditions and effective administrative and fiscal support measures tailored to each company's needs, so that interest translates into new investment and expanded production facilities."