Seoul pursues whole-of-government export strategy

South Korea is ramping up efforts to ensure whole-of-government support for military exports. One of the country's most successful export products is Hanwha Defense's K9 self-propelled howitzer. (Hanwha Defense)

South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) is devising a new defence export strategy geared towards meeting evolving market conditions, the agency said on 2 November.

The so-called K-Defense Globalization Strategy has been drafted through a series of surveys and assessments, and is geared towards boosting South Korea's defence export profile.

The strategy is being implemented by the Korea Research Institute for Defense Technology Planning and Advancement (KRIT), an agency under DAPA.

DAPA said that KRIT has determined that the K-Defense Globalization Strategy will prioritise a whole-of-government approach to pursue military exports.

Such a cross-ministerial approach is necessary to engage with customers' increasingly diversified requirements, said DAPA. This includes requirements for defence suppliers to support customers' commercial sectors through transfers of technologies, local production, and export facilitation.

DAPA pointed out that the approach is aligned with target markets' evolving defence offset and industrial collaboration policies. “For an exporting company there are many challenges in meeting these eclectic trade requirements,” said DAPA.

DAPA indicated that the K-Defense Globalization Strategy will continue to be adapted to meet customer requirements. It added that KRIT will also enhance efforts to introduce export policy improvements, including methods to ensure enhanced cross-ministerial support for such international sales.