Lee inspects Brazil's C-390 aircraft during state visit aimed at deepening defense ties

BRASÍLIA — President Lee Jae Myung inspected a Brazilian C-390 military transport aircraft upon arriving in Brasília on Sunday, a move that highlighted the growing defense cooperation between the two countries.

He arrived at Brasília Air Base after departing San Francisco International Airport the previous evening. The trip is part of Lee’s South America tour, comprising Brazil, Chile and Argentina.

Brazilian officials, including the foreign ministry’s chief of protocol, the ministry’s assistant secretary for Asia and the Pacific and the Brazilian ambassador to Korea, welcomed the president — who was accompanied by Korea’s ambassador to Brazil and other officials — at the air base. 

After the welcoming ceremony, Lee toured a C-390 aircraft parked nearby rather than departing immediately by motorcade as is customary.

The aircraft has become a symbol of the two countries’ defense cooperation.

When Korea chose Brazil-based aircraft manufacturer Embraer’s C-390 military transport aircraft in December 2023, the procurement included an offset agreement for a consortium of Korean small- and medium-sized companies to manufacture key components, including parts of the rear fuselage.

The first aircraft that Lee inspected is scheduled to be delivered to Korea in December, with the second and third aircraft expected by December of next year.

The acquisition also marked the first time that the Korean Air Force purchased a Brazilian-built military aircraft after operating 16 C-130 transport aircraft manufactured by U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

Lee reviewed an honor guard consisting of 13 Korean Air Force personnel undergoing training in Brazil ahead of the aircraft’s delivery and thanked them for their service.

“Let’s build commercial aircraft together in the future,” Lee told Brazilian officials while inspecting the aircraft. “It would be a meaningful first step in [our] defense cooperation.”

Embraer agreed with the president’s sentiment.

“The aircraft also carries special significance for us as it’s the first [C-390] to be delivered to Asia,” said Fábio Caparica, the vice president of Embraer. “Additionally, we plan to transfer all of the proprietary technologies that we have.”

Lee on Sunday also convened a meeting with his senior presidential secretaries over videoconference to address domestic affairs as he began a three-day state visit to Brazil, part of an 11-day, five-country trip.

On Monday, Lee will be reunited for a bilateral summit with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and attend a business roundtable on Tuesday.

While Lee’s visit to San Francisco focused on AI technology cooperation and investment with global tech companies, the key agenda for this South American tour is economic security cooperation, including diversifying energy supply chains and securing critical minerals such as rare earths, copper and lithium — essential for the semiconductor industry.  

Brazil holds the world's second-largest reserves of rare earths after China and has recently been drawing attention as a potential alternative to Beijing.

In an interview with the Brazilian daily newspaper O Globo published Sunday, Lee stressed that “as geopolitical conflicts intensify and global leadership weakens, the norms and order that have long sustained the international community are being shaken," pledging to navigate complex global crises together with Brazil and the international community.

He stressed that the trade agreement between Korea and Mercosur, a South American trade bloc, “is an important milestone that goes beyond simple economic cooperation and demonstrates our shared determination to uphold a free and open trade order in an international community facing increasing uncertainty.”

BY OH HYUN-SEOK [[email protected]]