South Korea seeks to bolster defences and boost arms export

GYERYONG CITY: South Korea’s largest defence exhibition is taking place this week as the country seeks to showcase its military weapons and boost its status as a top arms exporter.
The Korea Army International Defence Industry Exhibition is being held at the nation’s military headquarters Gyeryongdae, about 145km south of Seoul.
The five-day event will feature 365 local and foreign companies, and will be attended by high-ranking officials from 27 countries.
The exhibition will showcase various Korean weapons systems, such as the K2 main battle tank.
There will also be forums, including one on logistics between South Korea and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Such defence exhibitions are one way to bring in weapon sales and revenue, which has become increasingly important to South Korea.
Until about four years ago, the country’s annual arms exports stood at about US$2 billion to US$3 billion.
It surged to about US$7.3 billion in 2021 and US$17.3 billion the year after.
This year, the government is hoping to increase that amount to around US$20 billion.
At the exhibition’s opening ceremony on Wednesday (Oct 2), Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun said one of the main reasons South Korea has been able to grow the industry is due to its conflict with North Korea. 
The three-year Korean War concluded with an armistice in 1953, but a permanent peace treaty was never signed.
“As the only divided country in the world, Korea is still technically at war and is in a state of sharp military confrontation with communist dictatorship forces,” said Mr Kim.
“Because of this environment, Korea’s weapons are considered to be more practical and combat-ready than those of any other country.”
Seoul is also seeking to bolster defences by increasing its military spending amid escalating threats from North Korea.
South Korea’s defence ministry is expected to spend about 350 trillion won (US$260 billion) between this year and 2028 to improve capabilities and maintain troops, equipment and facilities.
It has signed deals to acquire weapons, including military satellites, F-35A stealth fighter jets from the United States, and suicide drones from Poland.
South Korea is currently the world’s 10th largest exporter of arms, and Seoul is aiming to become the fourth-largest by 2027.
Industry players taking part in the exhibition said South Korea’s defence industry has been steadily growing, with global companies taking it seriously it as a competitor.
“There has always been an intent from the Korean government to be self-sufficient and self-supporting when it comes to defence materials,” said Mr Henrik Lonn, managing director of Swedish defence manufacturer Saab’s South Korean market.
“Korea has had very rapid development based on domestic needs. Over the years, (it has) improved on quality, delivery capability, price levels and so on.”
Some experts CNA spoke to agreed the nation will be able to achieve its goal of becoming a top arms exporter, as the sector is a priority for the government.
“In Korea, there has been a significant investment in human resources, but developing these human resources is not something that happens overnight, and has been a continuous accumulation over time,” said Jee Hyo-keun, a professor at Konyang University’s department of military science and art.
“The difference lies in whether the accumulated technologies are directed towards the military sector or the civilian sector. The Korean government has already clearly set a goal to focus heavily on the defence sector.”
To get there, South Korea is hoping to win deals with more countries. It currently exports defence technology to 12 nations and is looking to grow that list.
One potential market could be Vietnam. The Southeast Asian country used to get most of its supplies from Russia until 2022, when Moscow invaded Ukraine and Vietnam sought to diversify its sources of supplies.
Hanoi had earlier agreed to expand cooperation with Seoul in several areas, including defence and high-tech industries.
The defence exhibition will run until Sunday (Oct 5).