South Korea eyes ‘giant leap forward’ in defence as analysts say wars boost bid to grow arms exports

South Korea wants to share its experience with friendly nations to develop their defence sectors, President Yoon Suk-yeol said at the ADEX arms fair

Designed to help Seoul reach its goal of becoming the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, ADEX also celebrates country’s 70-year alliance with US

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A South Korean-made KF-21 fighter is displayed at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2023 at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, South Korea, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap

Published: 11:30am, 18 Oct 2023Updated: 2:57pm, 18 Oct 2023

South Korea on Tuesday opened one of Asia’s largest arms fairs to showcase its defence industry’s rags-to-riches story, as analysts say the Israel-Gaza conflict and Russia-Ukraine war could be a boon for Seoul’s goal to become the fourth-biggest weapons exporter.

At the opening ceremony of the biennial Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition, known as ADEX, President Yoon Suk-yeol said the defence industry of South Korea, which once relied on aid and arms imports, was entering “a new chapter”.

Speaking at the Seoul Air Base in the city’s southern suburbs, Yoon noted that the weapons on display at the fair included the home-grown 4.5-generation supersonic KF-21 fighter jet, surface-to-air missiles, K-9 howitzers and K-2 tanks, combat helicopters, infantry fighting vehicles and a precision-targeting rocket artillery system known as Chunmoo.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a speech at the ADEX 2023 opening ceremony at Seoul Air Base. Photo: dpa

“Our defence cooperation [with other countries] is now beyond simply exporting weapons,” Yoon said, adding the cooperation had expanded to encompass supplying equipment and parts, training and research. “We plan to establish a defence-security cooperation system with friendly countries by sharing our experience growing our defence industry.”

This year’s show is designed to help South Korea reach its goal of becoming the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, Lee Jong-ho, chief of the fair’s organising office, told a briefing on Monday. More than 450 senior defence officials from 54 countries were expected to attend, along with hundreds of thousands of other professionals and members of the public, he said.

“This is an opportunity for Korea’s defence industry to draw international attention and take a giant leap forward,” Lee said.

South Korean-made long-range surface-to-air missiles at ADEX 2023 on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap

Seoul has set a goal of reaching US$20 billion in defence exports this year, after sealing a record US$17.3 billion in arms sales last year, including huge deals with Poland for tanks, howitzers, warplanes and rockets.