[Defense Commentary] Preparing for the Future of the Defense Industry with Various Countries

Let us go back 20 years to June 2002. At that time, our football team achieved its first-ever victory in the World Cup finals against Poland and, riding that momentum, created the legendary feat of reaching the World Cup semifinals.

In the same year, in August, the domestically produced T-50 advanced trainer aircraft, developed by our own hands, successfully completed its maiden flight. When we think back to the summer of 2002, we still remember those happy and vivid moments and sometimes smile.

This summer of 2022, exactly 20 years later, someone has quietly waited through those two decades and, as if rewarding our endurance, coincidentally through Poland?the very team that gave us our first World Cup win?has marked a monumental milestone in Korea’s defense industry exports. Meanwhile, the developers of the T-50 are once again experiencing the successful maiden flight of the KF-21, continuing a significant chapter in the history of Korean aircraft development.

Following the 2002 World Cup semifinals, the new government has included the goal of becoming one of the global top four defense exporters by 2022 as a national agenda, aiming to foster the defense industry as a core sector. Exactly 20 years later, the defense industry feels like a grand celebration. Everyone seems to be congratulating and encouraging each other, sharing joy and enjoying a festive and happy time.

Behind this celebration, we must never forget the hard work of countless individuals who have quietly maintained their positions and protected the ecosystem of the defense industry in unseen places. Our defense exports now demonstrate that weapon systems verified by our military can become world-class.

Based on the vast big data and know-how accumulated through our military’s use, combined with our unique culture of swift work processes, cost-effectiveness with price competitiveness, and all-around sales capabilities, our well-prepared defense system is now globally validated and producing these results. This also clearly shows that the revitalization of the domestic defense industry, through prepared products and technologies, ultimately leads to K-Defense exports, forming the foundation for a healthy and sustainable defense ecosystem.

However, amidst this celebration, I suddenly feel concern and fear. For the continuous growth of our defense industry, new strategies and challenges are now necessary. We must start preparing our new best-selling products and technologies. It is urgently necessary to prepare for future exports through continuous performance upgrades, various unmanned platforms and integrations utilizing digital technologies, and challenges involving innovative technologies unseen anywhere else in the world.

Furthermore, we must actively expand into overseas markets by deriving expanded business models such as strategic alliances and joint investments with foreign companies, and localization strategies for market development. We should prepare to broaden the scope of defense exchanges and cooperation with various countries, including traditional advanced allies, Southeast Asia, and Japan, while considering diplomacy and security in a multidimensional manner.

While growth resulting from the trickle-down effect to partner companies through exports of platform products from major defense companies like K-9, K-2, and FA-50 is important, additional government attention, education, and institutional support are also necessary to strengthen the practical competitiveness of medium-sized and small enterprises. Policy solutions must also be sought in overseas cooperation.

Europe has historically grown through long-standing conflicts and wars, and now, for peace, the defense industry within the European Union transcends history and borders through cooperation. Germany and France, who have historically suffered more than anyone else, formed a joint venture called KNDS (KMW + Nexter Defense System) in 2015 for joint development between Germany’s KMW and France’s Nexter. Many European defense companies continue multinational cooperation regardless of past histories.

At this point, we too must newly conceive models for overseas cooperation that we can undertake and deploy expert personnel to explore new and bold paths for defense overseas cooperation. We must not forget that the preparations we make now are the path for sustainable growth of the next generation of defense and an important moment to establish ourselves as a main pillar in the global defense market.

In the lyrics of the song "After the Play," there is a line: “Have you ever been left alone in the audience to see the stage after the lights go out? The music stops, the busy sets all come to a halt, and only silence remains on the stage,” and “The enthusiastic applause and the warm praise of the audience have all disappeared, leaving only silence in the auditorium.” I sincerely hope that our defense industry, like this ongoing celebration, becomes a play that never ends.

Lee Jung-gon, Adjunct Professor, Department of Defense Business, Graduate School of Industry, Konkuk University

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