South Korea’s defence ministry is expected to spend about 350 trillion won (US$260 billion) between this year and 2028 to improve capabilities and maintain troops, equipment and facilities.
It has signed deals to acquire weapons, including military satellites, F-35A stealth fighter jets from the United States, and suicide drones from Poland.
CLIMBING UP ARMS EXPORT RANKS
South Korea is currently the world’s 10th largest exporter of arms, and Seoul is aiming to become the fourth-largest by 2027.
Industry players taking part in the exhibition said South Korea’s defence industry has been steadily growing, with global companies taking it seriously it as a competitor.
“There has always been an intent from the Korean government to be self-sufficient and self-supporting when it comes to defence materials,” said Mr Henrik Lonn, managing director of Swedish defence manufacturer Saab’s South Korean market.
“Korea has had very rapid development based on domestic needs. Over the years, (it has) improved on quality, delivery capability, price levels and so on.”
Some experts CNA spoke to agreed the nation will be able to achieve its goal of becoming a top arms exporter, as the sector is a priority for the government.
“In Korea, there has been a significant investment in human resources, but developing these human resources is not something that happens overnight, and has been a continuous accumulation over time,” said Jee Hyo-keun, a professor at Konyang University’s department of military science and art.
“The difference lies in whether the accumulated technologies are directed towards the military sector or the civilian sector. The Korean government has already clearly set a goal to focus heavily on the defence sector.”
To get there, South Korea is hoping to win deals with more countries. It currently exports defence technology to 12 nations and is looking to grow that list.
One potential market could be Vietnam. The Southeast Asian country used to get most of its supplies from Russia until 2022, when Moscow invaded Ukraine and Vietnam sought to diversify its sources of supplies.
Hanoi had earlier agreed to expand cooperation with Seoul in several areas, including defence and high-tech industries.
The defence exhibition will run until Sunday (Oct 5).
