Korea is the country with the highest growth rate in arms exports in the world over the past five years.
As more and more countries are looking for Korean weapons, defense companies have also started an all-out war by reorganizing their organizations centered on exports.Defense cooperation between the two countries has progressed rapidly since Poland announced its military modernization policy through the introduction of Korean weapons in March.
Mikhailagh / Chairman of the Polish House of Representatives Defence Committee: We need a lot of weapons systems made in Korea and elsewhere. I hope Korea will support Poland with its weapons system.Concerned about being the next target of Russia’s invasion, Poland stepped up its arms and ordered 1,000 K2 tanks, 600 K-9 self-propelled guns, and 48 FA-50 light attack aircraft to Korea.Indonesia, which had been upset by the unpaid balance of the KF-21 Boramae joint development, showed a different attitude when it first proposed to discuss the issue. Indonesia is also a country where disputes continue over maritime border areas with China.As each country entered the arms race, it seems that it was imperative to secure the KF-21 Boramae, which will develop into a fifth-generation fighter.
Over the past five years, Korea has been leading the global trend with export growth of 177 percent among the top 10 arms exports.In response, Hanwha Group integrated its defense affiliates, which had been distributed to the three companies, into Hanwha Aerospace, saying that it would become “Korea’s Lockheed Martin” with K-9 self-propelled guns and red-back armored vehicles.Kwon Hyuk-beom / Hanwha Aerospace Public Relations Manager: Through the integration of defense affiliates, we plan to bring together defense capabilities including the Army, Navy, and Space into one and grow into the “Global Defense Top 10” by 2030.Hyundai Rotem also entered a reorganization after signing a basic contract to export more than 25 trillion won of K2 tanks to Poland.As demand for the F-16 exceeded supply, the FA-50 emerged as an alternative, and KAI began preparing to meet overseas orders by exporting 12 units to Poland next year. As you know, South Korea is the only divided country where the two Koreas confront each other and the topographical core of Northeast Asia such as Japan, China, and the United States, so it is a country with great concentration on arms and defense.
Now, it has become the largest country with the growth rate of exporting strategic weapons beyond self-defenseDomestic defense products are in the spotlight in terms of quality and price competitiveness amid increased demand for military build-up around the world due to the Ukraine-Russia war. This led to strong performance in the first half of this year. If this trend continues, it is expected that Korea’s defense export ranking, which is currently ranked eighth in the global market, could rise to fifth place.LIG Nex1 announced on the 8th that its sales and operating profit in the second quarter recorded 490.25 billion won and 47.17 billion won, respectively. This is an increase of 11.5% and 63.8%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. According to the cumulative performance in the first half of the year, sales amounted to 917.4 billion won, up 16.1% compared to the first half of last year, and operating profit increased 134.8% to 97.7 billion won.That’s about $90 million in US dollars
EJ SONG
ASIA JOURNAL
