The signing ceremony was attended by key representatives from both universities. The delegation from ZUA included Dr. Wang Yonggang (Dean of the School of Business), Ruan Ying (Director of the Audit Department), and Zhang Hui (Administrative Director of the School of Business). KAU was represented by President Hur Hee-young, Kim Sang-woo (Dean of International Affairs), Lee Jin-sang (Director of the International Cooperation and Development Center), and Professor Cho Shin-saeng.

Founded in 1949 and located in Henan Province, Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics (ZUA) is a prominent public university specialized in aviation under the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). With an enrollment of approximately 30,000 students, ZUA boasts strong academic programs not only in engineering sectors such as aerospace, electronic information, and computer science, but also in business, accounting, and logistics. Notably, in partnership with South Ural State University in Russia, ZUA operates the "South Ural College"—a Joint Education Institution approved by China's Ministry of Education—demonstrating its advanced capability in managing global joint degree programs.

Henan Province, with a population of 100 million, is the most populous province and the geographical heart of China. Historically known as "China’s Granary" due to its thriving agriculture, the province has recently been restructuring its economy around high-tech aerospace industries. In line with this, the Zhengzhou region has been designated as a national-level Aerospace Economic Comprehensive Experimental Zone.

Under this new agreement, KAU and ZUA will expand mutual cooperation across various fields, including:

Exchange of educational, research, and administrative staff

Operation of short-term language programs and student exchange programs

Mutual recognition of academic credits

Degree advancement programs for students and faculty

Joint research and academic exchanges

Moving forward, the two universities plan to promote international exchanges focusing on ZUA's three majors—Logistics Management, Logistics Engineering, and Transportation—and KAU’s Service Management major. They also exchanged ideas on the potential establishment of a future Joint Education Institution (a cooperative educational entity co-managed by Chinese and foreign universities).

"Henan Province has the largest student population in China and a high ratio of top-tier students. However, since ZUA is the only university in the region ranked among China’s top 100, the competition for admission is exceptionally fierce," said Dr. Wang Yonggang, Dean of the School of Business at ZUA. He added, "The Henan provincial government, which is highly invested in the aviation sector, allocated 100 billion KRW (approx. 540 million RMB) to our university last year and secures land near Zhengzhou Airport. As we are deeply committed to nurturing elite aviation talent, we look forward to expanding our exchanges with KAU."

President Hur Hee-young responded, "KAU not only maintains a rigorous academic management system but also shares a close cooperation network through regular exchanges with Chinese airlines operating in South Korea. We look forward to this partnership with Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics yielding fruitful results."

KAU plans to continue working-level discussions with ZUA to develop specific and actionable cooperation models.