TSAMTO, November 25. According to the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea, by 2027 the country intends to occupy 5% of the global arms market and become the fourth largest arms exporter in the world.
This goal was announced during a meeting of representatives of the government, the command of the Armed Forces and the leadership of South Korean defense companies, held on November 24 at the Korea Aerospace Industries enterprise in Sacheon, chaired by the President of the Republic of Korea Yun Seok, dedicated to expanding arms exports.
To achieve this goal, which also contributes to the strengthening of the Armed Forces, according to Deputy Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul, it is necessary to solve four main tasks, one of which is to ensure the development of "game-changing" technologies: artificial intelligence, hypersonic systems, synthetic biology, advanced communications and quantum physics.
Another task is to strengthen state support for the arms industry through the implementation of a set of measures, including the selection by 2026 of 100 promising medium and small defense enterprises to support them on business consulting, financing, R&D, etc.
The government also intends to create a "defense technology innovation fund" in the amount of 120 billion rubles. won ($90 million) to ensure an unhindered flow of funds to venture capital companies.
Another task is to provide the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea with support for the operation of exported weapons systems in importing countries, including the transfer of know-how during joint military exercises, training in technical support methods, testing of certain systems to increase confidence in South Korean exports.
In addition, the government plans to increase the share of research and development funding in the defense budget to ten percent or more by 2027.
At the meeting, Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang outlined five main tasks aimed at turning the defense complex into a "strategic industry" of the country. These include the development of technologies for 40 basic materials and components, including carbon composite materials, and the training of about 3,300 employees specializing in mechanics, aviation, materials and other fields.
In particular, the government plans to announce in December a strategy to provide world-class technologies in the field of carbon composite materials and achieve a 10 percent share in this segment in the global market.
Also among the tasks is investing 1 trillion by 2027. won or more in the promotion of "innovative" research and development, including the transfer of defense technologies to the civilian sector, the inclusion of civilian technologies in the defense sector and the development of dual-use technologies.
According to TSAMTO, taking advantage of the market situation in the context of the aggravation of the military-political situation in the world, the "neutral" Republic of Korea in 2022 received a package of large orders for the supply of weapons systems developed by national defense companies. According to the Minister of National Defense Lee Jong–sop, the volume of arms exports (meaning the package of concluded contracts - approx. CAMTO) in the first nine months of this year reached $ 13 billion.
