Will the Second Contract for 30 Trillion Won-Scale Polish Arms Export Be Finalized? [Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club]

Polish Deputy Defense Minister Visits Korea on 21st
Observes Cheonmu Test Launch at Anheung Test Site

The Polish Deputy Minister of Defense will visit South Korea next week. Poland is about to sign a second contract for arms imports with South Korea, and attention is focused on whether this visit will determine the success of the deal.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to government officials on the 19th, Paweł Bejda, Deputy Minister of Defense of Poland, will visit South Korea on the 21st. The visit of Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, has not yet been decided. However, if the minister's visit is confirmed, there is a high possibility of a meeting with South Korean Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik on the 23rd.

On the 22nd, the Polish Deputy Minister of Defense plans to meet with Seok Jong-geon, Administrator of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), and visit the Gwangju Kia Motors plant to tour the production site of Korean tactical vehicles. On the 24th, he will visit the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and observe the test launch of the new tactical surface-to-surface guided weapon Cheonmu at the ADD Anheung Test Site in Taean, Chungnam. Afterwards, he will tour the production sites of weapon systems introduced under the first contract at Hyundai Rotem, Hanwha Aerospace, and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).

Discussions regarding the second contract are also expected to take place during this visit. In February, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Export-Import Bank of Korea Act, increasing the bank’s statutory capital from 15 trillion won to 25 trillion won. Since the upcoming second contract is valued at around 30 trillion won (308 K9 howitzers and 820 K2 tanks), commercial banks are expected to supplement financial capacity to reduce uncertainties in the contract with Poland.

In 2022, Poland signed defense contracts worth $12.4 billion (approximately 16.5168 trillion won) with Korean defense companies including KAI FA-50, Hanwha Aerospace K9, and Hyundai Rotem K2. The defense industry expects that if additional exports to Poland and other overseas orders proceed smoothly, the government’s export target of $20 billion (approximately 27 trillion won) for this year can be achieved.