"Announcement of K-Defense Export Measures in the First Half of the Year"… Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Holds Meeting with Defense Companies

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Establishes Advanced Civil-Military Cooperation Support Division

The government is strengthening support for the defense industry to expand exports of 'K-Defense,' which has recently gained global attention. On the 12th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a confidential 'Major Defense Companies Meeting' at an undisclosed location in Daejeon to discuss measures to promote the defense industry and expand exports.

The meeting was chaired by Lee Seung-ryeol, Director of Industrial Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and attended by government and agency representatives including the head of the Defense Materials Trade Support Center and the president of the Korea Institute for Industrial Technology Evaluation and Planning, as well as defense industry officials from Hanwha Aerospace, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Rotem, Hanwha Ocean, and LIG Nex1.

This meeting was organized to strengthen communication with the defense industry and the field after the Ministry established the dedicated defense department, 'Advanced Civil-Military Cooperation Support Division,' last month.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy established the Advanced Civil-Military Cooperation Support Division on the 15th of last month to systematically support K-Defense, which has been increasing its presence in the global defense market with a series of large-scale export deals. This also signifies that the government's perspective on defense has expanded from solely national defense to include industrial aspects.

This division is responsible for supporting defense export activities, preparing promotion policies for linked cooperation between manufacturing industries such as national advanced strategic industries and the defense industry, and securing core materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) technologies for civil-military cooperation.

Director Lee Seung-ryeol stated, "We will regularize communication with the defense industry centered on the Advanced Civil-Military Cooperation Support Division to carefully address industry difficulties, and we will prepare and announce measures to create an ecosystem for defense exports and innovative growth within the first half of the year."