[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Defense Export Figures Said to Be Confidential... Yet Another Self-Promotion

Defense exports in the first half of this year were found to be less than half the level of last year.

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The military authorities are facing criticism for their "inconsistent policy" after disclosing defense export figures. This is because the criteria for revealing defense export amounts have frequently changed depending on performance or the administration in power.

A senior government official said at a background briefing (anonymously provided to the press) held after the joint briefing on the 2022 work report with the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 23rd, "Defense exports have traditionally been around 3 billion dollars annually, but this year we expect 4 billion dollars or more," adding, "Currently, contracts worth 4.6 billion dollars (approximately 5.46 trillion won) have been signed," and "additional contracts are also pending."

On that day, the official specifically explained, "In terms of air power, the FA-50 trainer jet has sales records with several countries and negotiations are ongoing with others," and "Regarding air defense power, we have reached an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the Cheongung-II (medium-range surface-to-air missile, M-SAM) and are preparing contracts."

Until now, the military authorities have kept defense exports to Middle Eastern countries under wraps, fearing that media exposure could jeopardize contracts. Considering this, the current disclosure is a complete reversal. This is why there is criticism that the policy on disclosing defense export figures by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and other military authorities changes depending on the administration.

In fact, in June 2014, DAPA heavily promoted that defense exports reached 1.35866 billion dollars and that the export amount would record an all-time high compared to the previous year.

However, the stance changed the following year. In January 2015, DAPA stated, "South Korea is the only country in the world that promotes its defense weapon export performance to the media," and "from now on, we will not release data on how much weapons have been exported." They added, "The decision was also based on the judgment that disclosing performance does not significantly benefit national interests, as advanced countries like the UK are closely watching South Korea's defense export growth."

Under the Moon Jae-in administration, DAPA's position changed once again. At the 2017 ADEX opening ceremony, President Moon emphasized, "Our defense industry must leap beyond domestic production of advanced weapons to become an export industry." In January of the following year, DAPA resumed promotion, announcing that defense exports had surpassed 3 billion dollars, a 25% increase compared to 2016 (2.55 billion dollars).

In fact, on the 20th, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) published the "2021 World Defense Market Yearbook," promoting that South Korea ranked ninth globally in weapon exports over the five years from 2016 to 2020.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.