Inspecting K9, K2 production as Romania considers expanding Korean defense acquisitions after K9 contract

High-ranking Romanian government officials will visit Hanwha Aerospace (Hanwha Aero) and Hyundai Rotem's factories during the domestic aerospace and defense industry exhibition ADEX 2025. Romania decided last year to introduce Hanwha Aero's K9 self-propelled howitzers, drawing attention to whether it will additionally introduce Korean weapons such as the K2 tank.

According to the government and military authorities on the 15th, Radu Dincu Miruce, Romania's Minister of Economy, is scheduled to visit the factories of Hanwha Aero and Hyundai Rotem located in Changwon, Gyeongnam Province on the 21st of this month. Alongside Minister Miruce, Deputy Minister Julian Cosmin Marzeloiu, Chief of Staff Iona Alexandra Raduca, and Romanian Ambassador to South Korea Cezar Manole Armeanu will also participate. They are observed to be checking the production process of Korean-made ground weapons, including armored vehicles, in addition to the K9 self-propelled howitzers and K2 tanks.

Romania has already introduced South Korea's weapon systems. Romania and Hanwha Aero signed a K9 self-propelled howitzer package contract in July of last year, including 54 K9 self-propelled howitzers, 36 K10 ammunition supply vehicles, and other equipment. The contract was worth 1.3828 trillion Korean won. Since then, Hanwha Aero has established a local subsidiary in Romania to lay the groundwork for localization, including maintenance and technical support for the K9 self-propelled howitzers and local production.

Romania, which visited South Korea in April of last year, is a country on the frontline of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), like Poland. It is known that there is a high demand to modernize aging ground weapons as the Russia-Ukraine war prolongs.

Hyundai Rotem has begun localization in Poland. It is continuing preparations for the production of the Polish-type tank K2PL with Bumar, a subsidiary of Poland's state-owned defense company PGZ. This is part of a strategy to lower the threshold of the European Union's (EU) defense bloc formation (a phenomenon of raising entry barriers for foreign defense companies). Once the Polish facility is completed, Hyundai Rotem plans to use it as a base to respond to demand within Europe.

The Romanian delegation is also known to plan to attend the opening ceremony of ADEX on the 20th of this month. As military officials, including the South Korean military and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, will also attend, discussions on defense industry cooperation between the two countries are expected. A source from the industry said, "This is an opportunity for the South Korean defense industry, which is heavily focused on Poland, to expand into other Eastern European regions."

Exclusive: Romanian Officials Visit Hanwha, Hyundai Rotem Factories During ADEX 2025