For the second consecutive year in 2023, South Korea has confirmed its position among the world’s top ten defense exporters, with exports amounting to approximately $14 billion. This achievement results from decades of preparation for a potential conflict with North Korea and an effective strategy to meet the growing global demand for armaments, heightened by the conflict in Ukraine.
Data released on Monday by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense and national defense companies revealed that South Korea, ranked ninth worldwide behind Spain, expanded its export markets to 12 countries last year. This includes new partners such as the United Arab Emirates, Finland, and Norway, up from four countries in 2022. The variety of weapons systems exported also saw a twofold increase.
This expansion aligns with South Korea’s ambition to be ranked among the top four global defense exporters by 2027, aiming to secure over a 5 percent share of the global defense export market, up from the current 2.4 percent.
The surge in defense exports from Korea has been fueled by several large-scale contracts, most notably a $12.4 billion deal with Poland in 2022. This contract, made in response to increased defense needs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, accounts for more than 35 percent of South Korea’s annual defense expenditure for that year. The momentum continued into the early part of this year, with LIG Nex1 announcing a $3.2 billion agreement with Saudi Arabia for the M-SAM2 ballistic missile interceptor system last Tuesday.