President Yoon: "The Ministry of National Defense is the Ministry of Defense Industry"... What It Means

At the Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting, Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop: "This Year's Defense Exports Four Times 2020"
Poland's Package Model Includes K-9 Self-Propelled Howitzer, FA-50 Light Attack Aircraft, and Nuclear Power Plant Exports

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop stated, "This year's defense industry export performance is analyzed to correspond to the creation of 100,000 jobs and a production inducement effect of 38 trillion won." Defense exports have surged to four times the average annual scale before 2020 as of the end of last month this year.

Minister Lee attended the 11th Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting presided over by President Yoon Seok-yeol and said, "This year, defense exports reached 13 billion dollars." He added, "By providing a package that includes the operation of exported weapons equipment, education and training, and subsequent logistics support, we are enhancing the trust in K-Defense," emphasizing, "We will actively strive to make the defense industry a national strategic industry as well as a food industry."

In response, President Yoon Seok-yeol urged, "The Ministry of National Defense should become the Ministry of Defense Industry." The president's reference to the Ministry of National Defense as the Ministry of Defense Industry is interpreted as a call to create various export models starting with K-Defense.

A representative case is Poland. Recently, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) formed a consortium with a Polish company to promote the construction of a new nuclear power plant. As the possibility of exporting nuclear power plants to Poland, which has signed contracts for domestic defense exports, increases, an export model combining defense and nuclear power is attracting attention.

Foreign media such as Russia's Sputnik News reported, "KHNP is expected to sign a Letter of Intent (LOI) within two weeks regarding the new nuclear power plant project with Polish Power Company (PGE) and ZEPAK, Poland's largest private energy company." The three companies are reportedly planning to build a nuclear power plant on the site of the Patnow coal-fired power plant in central Poland, which ZEPAK plans to cease operating by the end of 2024.

However, Westinghouse of the United States filed a lawsuit against KHNP in a U.S. federal court, alleging that KHNP violated intellectual property rights and U.S. export control regulations, as KHNP is expected to sign an LOI for a nuclear power plant project promoted by a Polish private energy company separately from the Polish government's project.

This is why there is an analysis that the "nuclear power alliance" declared by the heads of South Korea and the United States in May has come under scrutiny amid ongoing discord between the two countries over semiconductors, electric vehicles, and other issues due to the Biden administration's "America First" policy.

Earlier, in July, the Polish government signed contracts to purchase 672 K-9 self-propelled howitzers from Hanwha Defense, 1,000 K2 tanks from Hyundai Rotem, and 48 FA-50 light attack aircraft from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Accordingly, the delivery of K2 tanks and K-9 self-propelled howitzers began domestically on the 19th of this month. Additionally, in Warsaw, the Polish government signed a basic contract with Hanwha Defense to introduce 288 Chunmoo multiple launch rocket systems. The basic contract is a comprehensive agreement that outlines the export-import target equipment and scale.

Furthermore, Poland is considering the introduction of the infantry fighting vehicle ‘Redback’ (AS-21) produced by Hanwha Defense. Named after the redback spider native to Australia, the ‘Redback’ armored vehicle is a 5th generation infantry fighting vehicle developed by Hanwha Defense in cooperation with global defense companies from Israel, Australia, Canada, and others.

It is known that Poland has shown interest in the active protection system installed on the ‘Redback,’ which can detect and neutralize enemy anti-tank missile attacks before impact. In addition, the ‘Redback’ is equipped with composite rubber tracks to enhance mobility and durability, thermal camouflage to avoid enemy detection, and an Iron Vision system that allows 360-degree external surveillance from inside the vehicle.

The main armaments of the Redback include a 30mm cannon and a 7.62mm machine gun, and a hybrid turret capable of firing anti-tank missiles is also planned to be installed.

Regarding Minister Błaszczak’s tweet on the day, Hanwha Defense explained, "We plan to demonstrate the performance of the Redback," adding, "We are actively marketing the Redback in response to Poland's interest."

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