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 Kore
Kang Hoon-sik, Chief Presidential Secretary, cited "trust in delivery deadlines" and "performance" as the main reasons behind the growing popularity of South Korea's defense industry abroad. He also mentioned that as intergovernmental defense export contracts increase 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 Korea this year, the initial phase of discussions with the UAE side is expected to be completed by February.
On January 2, appearing on the YouTube channel "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory: Humility Is Difficult," Kang said, "Korea is appreciated for meeting the requested delivery deadlines." He explained, "Korea is known externally for being the most precise in meeting delivery dates. Since we have a constant weapon operation system, if necessary, we can even send what we originally planned to keep for ourselves first-whether it's missiles, tanks, or self-propelled artillery. Keeping delivery promises is our competitive edge."
As the second factor, Kang pointed to "performance." He said, "In the past, the arms market was dominated by lobbyists and under-the-table deals, but now it has become somewhat more advanced. The reason advanced countries like our weapons is that their performance requirements have increased. There is a perception that Korean weapons are high-performing and reliable."
Kang also stated that this competitiveness is translating into actual export results. "Last year, we signed actual defense export contracts worth about 15 billion dollars. This figure only includes contracts, not mergers and acquisitions (MOUs). The highest ever was 17 billion dollars, but after dropping to 9 billion dollars, this became the turning point for a rebound," he said.
Regarding Poland, the country involved in the recent export contract for the Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher, Kang said, "Of the 15 billion dollars, 90%-or 14.3 billion dollars-was achieved after June, following the inauguration of the Lee Jaemyung administration. Of that, Poland accounted for 10 billion dollars." Following a tank-related contract last August, Poland has now added a missile (multiple rocket launcher) contract worth 5.6 trillion won (about 3.9 billion dollars), bringing the total to around 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, "As intergovernmental defense contracts increase in scale, there is a trend toward expanding them into 'package' deals that include financial support and industrial cooperation." He emphasized, "Our goal is to win as much as possible in the competition, based on delivery 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 counterpart in January. He noted, "Working-level discussions are ongoing," and that Khaldoon Al Mubarak, who is both the head of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office and CEO of the sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, is scheduled to visit Korea in January. He added, "We aim to complete the initial phase by February," and "since the UAE president is also planning to visit Korea this year, we hope to finalize the export contract in the near future."
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