Company participates in KPEX 2026 at Incheon's Songdo Convensia from Wednesday to Saturday

Low-risk pistol, ammunition and K17 among key exhibits

SNT Motiv participates in the 2026 Korea Police Expo (KPEX 2026), held at Songdo Convensia in Incheon from Wednesday to Saturday. [SNT Motiv]
SNT Motiv participates in the 2026 Korea Police Expo (KPEX 2026), held at Songdo Convensia in Incheon from Wednesday to Saturday. [SNT Motiv]

SNT Motiv is pushing into domestic and overseas public safety markets, leading with a low-risk pistol designed for police field response and a small-caliber firearm built for special operations.

The company announced Wednesday that it is participating in the 2026 Korea Police Expo (KPEX 2026), running from Wednesday to Saturday at Songdo Convensia in Incheon. At the event, SNT Motiv is showcasing its low-risk pistol and low-risk ammunition as flagship products aimed at enhancing police field response capabilities.

The low-risk pistol is a 9mm revolver designed to replace the existing .38-caliber revolver. It is compatible with low-risk rounds, standard rounds and blank cartridges. The company's in-house developed low-risk round uses a plastic-tipped bullet to regulate muzzle velocity and is engineered to subdue a target with roughly one-tenth the physical force of a standard round. SNT Motiv signed a supply contract with the Korean National Police Agency late last year.

Also on display is the K17, a 5.56mm submachine gun for special operations. Selected through the domestic procurement program for special operations submachine guns, the K17 saw its first mass-produced units shipped in July. It replaces the K1A submachine gun, which has been used by special operations forces, artillery units, armored vehicle operators and military police for about 45 years since 1981. Starting with roughly 1,500 units this year, approximately 15,000 are to be supplied through next year.

The K17's weight and barrel length have been optimized for operational environments including urban combat and airborne drops. It features four-sided Picatinny rails for attaching scopes and other mission equipment, a collapsible stock and an ambidextrous design. A burst-fire mode has been added to improve accuracy and ammunition management. SNT Motiv plans to use the K17 to demonstrate its technical capabilities across a range of police missions, including counterterrorism and special operations.

Now in its eighth year, KPEX 2026 is themed "A New Era of K-Public Safety Opened by AI and Robotics." A dedicated Global Robotics Pavilion will feature patrol, security, search and disaster-response robots as well as public safety drones. An equipment evaluation session involving seven patrol robot companies will allow field officers to directly assess performance, safety and operational applicability.

SNT Motiv is pursuing firearms exports to North America, the Middle East and Asia. The company plans to actively seek business opportunities at the expo to expand into global public safety markets, including overseas police agencies.

"We plan to expand our overseas business — previously centered on military small arms — into the public safety sector, and will actively pursue entry into foreign markets with the low-risk pistol and low-risk ammunition tailored to the public safety environments of each country," an official from SNT Motiv's special projects division said.


rimsclub@heraldcorp.com