South Korea

경영공백 5개월 못 참아…KAI 노조 "수출입은행장, 즉각 사장 임명하라"

Digital Daily | Local Language | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | Strikes and Work Stoppages

The Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) labor union held a rally on December 10 in front of the Export-Import Bank of Korea headquarters in Seoul, demanding the immediate appointment of a KAI president after more than five months of vacancy. Around 100 senior executives participated in the protest, emphasizing the urgency of resolving the leadership gap. The Export-Import Bank of Korea, which holds a 26.41% stake in KAI and is majority government-owned (76.38%), plays a key role in appointing KAI’s president, a role heavily influenced by government personnel decisions despite KAI not being a public enterprise.

Former KAI president Kang Gu-young, who resigned in July, was closely associated with the Yoon Suk-yeol government. Kang stepped down following the inauguration of President Lee Jae-myung, signaling a shift in leadership aligned with administrative changes. The union criticized the repeated upheaval in KAI leadership linked to presidential administrations and called for a consistent, professional, and non-politicized selection process to safeguard national strategic projects and industry competitiveness.

Kim Seung-gu, chairman of the KAI labor union, urged the Export-Import Bank to disclose clear criteria for selecting the president and to make the appointment procedures transparent. The process involves a nominating committee, board resolution, and shareholders’ meeting approval. With Hwang Ki-yeon appointed president of the Export-Import Bank in November, the union stressed that the KAI presidential appointment process should no longer be delayed. The union warned that unless the Export-Import Bank assumes responsibility and acts promptly, their protest actions will continue.

Yonhap | English | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | UndeterminedBizdev-Partnering

South Korea's Navy recently hosted a Canadian submariner aboard its 3,000-ton submarine, ROKS Ahn Mu, during a six-day anti-submarine warfare exercise near Guam. This was part of the Silent Shark drills, a joint exercise with the United States, and marked the first time a foreign submariner boarded South Korea's homegrown 3,000-ton submarine. Previously, foreign submariners had only trained alongside South Korean forces on smaller submarines.

This event aligns with South Korea's efforts to secure a significant defense export contract under the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project. Canada plans to acquire up to 12 submarines to modernize its fleet, aiming to receive the first new vessel by 2035. Hanwha Ocean Co., a South Korean defense firm, is among the two preferred bidders for the contract, competing against Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.

The visit symbolizes growing naval cooperation between South Korea and Canada amid this export bid. Additional related activities include commitments to arms cooperation with Poland and planned meetings between South Korean and Canadian naval chiefs to discuss maritime security and defense collaboration.

휴네시온, 공급망 보안 통합 위험관리 체계 구축

ZD Net Korea | Local Language | News | Dec. 12, 2025 | Supply Chain Issues

Hunesion, led by CEO Jung Dong-seop, has established an integrated risk management system focused on supply chain security and conducted company-wide SBOM-based supply chain security policy and operations training. This initiative addresses growing concerns about software supply chain attacks amid accelerated digital transformation. The training aims to set security policies, operational guidelines, and strengthen response capabilities to protect company and customer assets.

Globally, including in the United States and Europe, policies mandating SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) submission are being implemented, with the U.S. requiring it for software and medical devices supplied to the federal government. South Korea plans to institutionalize SBOM submission for public sector IT systems and products by 2027 as part of its comprehensive information protection plan announced in October.

SBOM, which applies the manufacturing Bill of Materials concept to software, is central to supply chain security by enabling identification and management of software components. In June 2025, Hunesion was selected for KISA’s “Supply Chain Security Model Construction Support Project,” under which it built an SBOM-based integrated risk management system. This system is incorporated into Hunesion’s network interconnection solution, i-oneNet, allowing prevention of threats across software development, manufacturing, distribution, and deployment phases, as well as enabling rapid incident response.

Hunesion recently inspected the 'React' server component vulnerability, confirming no impact on its systems. The company held SBOM-based security policy training for employees on December 8 and presented SBOM sharing strategies for supply chain threat response at the Peace & Park Convention on December 5.

Hunesion leads a consortium of five firms, each bringing specialized capabilities: SecureSystems provides AI-driven real-time threat monitoring, O2ones supports SBOM internalization, Cryptolab offers homomorphic encryption for SBOM distribution modeling, and EconetSystem handles SBOM provision systems and operational support. Together, they demonstrate comprehensive strategies covering the software supply chain lifecycle.

The i-oneNet solution, known for protecting networks from external and internal cyber threats, has led the domestic network interconnection public procurement market since 2015. It incorporates advanced features such as N2SF, quantum-resistant cryptography, cloud compatibility, and AI support. Product lines like i-oneNet DD and i-oneNet DX are tailored for operational technology (OT) security environments in critical infrastructure, supporting the digital transformation of industrial control systems.

Given the critical importance of supply chain security in national infrastructure sectors—such as power, gas, water, transportation, and communications—Hunesion is also involved in an international R&D project to develop an S/HBOM-based integrated security management platform for industrial control system supply chains, aimed at enhancing global competitiveness.

CEO Jung Dong-seop emphasized Hunesion’s decade-long leadership in network interconnection and the company’s successful internalization of a supply chain security management system to comply with strengthened government standards under the national information protection plan.