The Seoul Air Show will go ahead next month (October 22-29) despite some recent speculation that it would be canceled behind Korea's economic problems, the chairman of the Korea Aerospace Industries Association, Ho Suk Choo, has affirmed here.

A number of world leaders-such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, British Aerospace, Dassault, Raytheon, Airbus and Sukhoi among them-have confirmed their participation in the Seoul show, at which it is now expected some 155 companies will exhibit.

Having announced the show in l996, the organizers have decided to continue, despite the economy's "sliding down rapidly," as cancellation would damage Korea's national credibility, Ho told Show News. And as they've intended, the Seoul show will not be a one-off occasion but "the most reputable event in the Far East," a biennial gala at which the international aerospace community would foregather.

The idea is to let the international community know that the Korean government, armed forces and private companies are sparing no effort in advancing their aerospace industry.

The country is one of the world's "top ten" in terms of air transport and has a pressing concern to acquire the capability to develop and manufacture aircraft of its own.

The Korean industry's chief spokesman acknowledged that aerospace had lagged behind other sectors in Korea's rapid industrial advancement. During the 1990s, the Korean export drive has been led by automobile and semiconductor manufacturers with aerospace playing but a minor role.

During recent years it has developed steadily, initially through depot maintenance, and then the licensed production of certain government-sanctioned projects. Korean companies have now reached the stage where they can undertake both national and collaborative projects.

Considering the global movement towards joint development projects and even some international mergers, the time is now to promote Korea's aerospace industry to a higher level, Ho said.

He said it was not simply Korea's economic crisis, which began last year, which has provoked thoughts of restructuring the national aerospace industry. The Korean industry had itself concluded that changes were necessary in a number of self-assessments over the past two or three years.

Aviation Week & Space Technology and Aviation Week's Show News are the official publications for the Seoul Air Show.

By Bob Rodwell