While largely conventional in its basic configuration, use of composite materials and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies were intended to allow the new aircraft to be 10% more fuel efficient than existing rivals.

The flight test programme was completed successfully on 22 March 2013, shortly after which the aircraft received type certification, permitting its use by civil operators.

During the 2010s, KAI commenced development of a military trainer variant, designated KT-100, for the South Korean Air Force; the first aircraft of this model first flew during 2015.

Several of the company's officials desired to moved beyond traditional government-directed military projects and for KAI to produce designs that appealed to the commercial and civilian aviation sectors.

[1] For decades, South Korea has been forced to import all non-military aircraft due to a lack of domestic options.

KAI engineers believed that by making extensive use of composite materials, significant reductions in both weight and fuel consumption could be made.

[1] On 22 March 2013, the flight test programme, which was carried out in partnership with KOCA and had involved 559 sorties by two flying prototypes, was officially completed.

[1][9] Significant attention was paid during development to the KC-100's aerodynamics; for example, the wing employs a laminar flow airfoil and has winglets, while the flight controls incorporate an aileron-rudder interconnection (ARI) system, the latter being aimed at augmenting the aircraft's lateral stability.

[14] During May 2014, the South Korean Air Force (SKAF) academy entered a memorandum of understanding to obtain a military trainer variant of the KC-100, designated KT-100; this was the first mass production contract to be received for the aircraft.