Kang Hoon-sik: "Trust in Delivery Deadlines and Performance Drive Korean Defense Industry's Popularity"... UAE's Khaldoon to Visit Korea This Month

Delivery Reliability and Performance Drive Export Contracts... $15 Billion in Deals Last Year
"Trend Toward Expanding into 'Package' Deals Including Financial Support and Industrial Cooperation"
UAE Export Contract: "Khaldoon to Visit South Korea in January"

Kang Hoon-sik, Chief Presidential Secretary, cited "trust in delivery deadlines" and "performance" as the main reasons why South Korea's defense industry is gaining popularity overseas. He also mentioned that as defense export contracts between countries grow in scale, there is a trend toward expanding them into "package" deals that include financial support and industrial cooperation. Regarding the defense export contract with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he stated that since the UAE President is planning to visit South Korea this year, the aim is to complete the initial stages of discussions with the UAE side by February.

Yonhap News

On January 2, appearing on the YouTube channel "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory: Humility Is Hard," Kang said, "Korea is appreciated for meeting requests such as 'please deliver by this date.'" He continued, "We are known externally for being the most accurate in meeting delivery dates. Since we have a constant weapons operation system, if necessary, we can even send what we originally planned to keep for ourselves first." He explained that whether it is missiles, tanks, or self-propelled artillery, keeping delivery promises is a key competitive strength.

As the second factor, Kang pointed to "performance." He said, "In the past, the weapons market was dominated by lobbyists and under-the-table deals, but now it has become somewhat more advanced. The reason developed countries like our weapons is because there is a higher demand for performance. There is a perception that Korean weapons are high-performing and reliable."

Kang also stated that this competitiveness is translating into actual export results. He said, "Last year, we signed actual defense export contracts worth about 15 billion dollars. This is for contracts only, not memorandums of understanding (MOUs). The highest amount ever was 17 billion dollars, but after dropping to 9 billion dollars, this rebound marked a turning point."

Regarding Poland, the country involved in the recent export contract for the Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher system, Kang said, "Of the 15 billion dollars, 90 percent, or 14.3 billion dollars, were achieved after June, following the inauguration of the Lee Jaemyung administration. Of that, Poland alone accounted for 10 billion dollars." After signing a tank-related contract in August last year, Poland has now added a missile (multiple rocket) contract worth 5.6 trillion won (about 3.9 billion dollars), bringing the total to approximately 10.3 billion dollars.

Kang went on to say, "The Polish Defense Minister mentioned that as they purchase these weapons, neighboring countries are also buying them. They are selling to Estonia, Romania, and others." He added, "There is a trend for intergovernmental defense contracts to expand into 'package' deals, including financial support and industrial cooperation, as the scale increases." He emphasized, "Our goal is to win as much as possible in the competition, based on delivery reliability and performance."

Regarding the weapons export contract with the UAE, Kang said that he plans to continue working-level discussions by meeting with the UAE side's responsible officials in January. He stated, "Working-level discussions are ongoing," and revealed that Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority and CEO of the sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, is scheduled to visit South Korea in January. He added, "We aim to complete the initial stage by February," and "Since the UAE President is also planning to visit South Korea this year, we hope to finalize the export contract in the near future."