K-Defense Exports Rank 8th Worldwide... Market Share 2.8%

177% Increase Compared to Export Amounts from 2012 to 2016

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been revealed that South Korea ranked 8th in the world in defense exports over the five years from 2017 to 2021.

The Defense Technology Promotion Research Institute (DTPI) announced on the 9th that it published the '2022 World Defense Market Yearbook,' which analyzes the status of major countries' defense markets, prospects for national weapons system acquisition projects, and trends in key future technology markets.

According to DTPI, statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in Sweden show that South Korea's ranking in defense exports from 2017 to 2021 rose one notch from 9th place globally in 2016-2020.

Regarding this, DTPI stated, "In 2022, due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, global defense budgets and arms transactions expanded, and the bloc formation intensified further amid the US-China hegemonic competition." It added, "For South Korea, continuous successes in 'K-Defense' exports last year are expected to increase global interest in its defense industry."

Countries with higher defense exports than South Korea from 2017 to 2021 were the United States, Russia, France, China, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. During the same period, South Korea's defense imports ranked 7th worldwide, following India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Australia, China, and Qatar.

Additionally, this year's yearbook includes information on defense budgets, defense industry trends, market analysis, major acquisition projects, and the operational status of key weapons systems by military branch for 30 countries across five global regions: the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), according to DTPI.

The yearbook also provides infographics that offer an overview of global defense market trends for the year, as well as evaluations of national defense industry environments and quantitative assessments of defense capabilities by country.

The 'World Defense Market Yearbook' has been published annually since 2011 and is distributed to related organizations such as the National Assembly, Ministry of National Defense, academia, research institutes, and universities.