Developments in South Korea’s defence industry

Abstract

South Korean arms exports have risen significantly since the late 2010s, with the largest share of sales going to the Philippines, India, Thailand and Poland. The ability of the country’s defence industry to produce quality arms on time and at scale has been a major strength, but it will become more difficult to maintain cost-effectiveness and enhance products as labour and production costs increase, and with the possibility that more arms may be retained domestically in the future to protect against threats from North Korea.