Samil PwC: "South Korea Must Actively Utilize Advanced Civilian Technologies to Become a Defense Powerhouse"

"Battlefields Without Soldiers, A Future Where Technology Fights" Report
Presents Growth Strategies for the Defense Industry

As South Korea's defense industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, experts have suggested that, for South Korea to establish itself as a global defense powerhouse, it is essential to quickly adopt and utilize advanced civilian technologies in defense that align with global weapon trends, diversify its export portfolio, and increase the localization rate of core materials, components, and equipment.

On the 26th, Samil PwC announced the publication of a report titled "Battlefields Without Soldiers, A Future Where Technology Fights: Focusing on Unmanned Weapon Systems and Civilian Technology Participation in Defense." The report examines the current status of the domestic and global defense industries, reviews global weapon trends, and presents growth strategies for South Korea's defense sector.

According to the report, the global defense industry has shown remarkable growth since 2014, driven by the expansion of global conflicts and the strengthening of national defense policies in major countries, including those in Europe. Last year, global defense spending reached approximately $2.6765 trillion, representing a 9.4% increase from the previous year. As the nature of warfare evolves to focus on technology and software, global weapon trends are expected to shift toward the proliferation of unmanned weapon systems and the development of manned-unmanned teaming systems where humans and machines collaborate.

The report also analyzed the growth factors and limitations of South Korea's defense industry. The domestic defense sector has seen rapid, export-driven growth, leveraging competitive pricing for advanced technologies, strong manufacturing capabilities, and swift delivery. However, the report found that South Korea remains relatively weak in areas such as unmanned weapon systems, weapons utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), defense software, and the space industry-fields considered to be advanced weaponry. The report cautioned against excessive optimism regarding the continued high growth of the domestic defense industry, noting that Europe's accelerated increase in weapons procurement after years of underinvestment, the prioritization of intra-European arms purchases, and the United States' expansion of its own arms sales could all limit the growth potential of South Korea's defense exports.

The report stated that, for South Korea to become a global leader in the defense industry, it must upgrade its weapon systems in line with global trends, develop advanced weaponry to enhance competitiveness, and diversify its export portfolio. It also advised that increasing the localization rate of materials, components, and equipment is necessary to foster a defense industry ecosystem in which small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as startups, can grow together.

Kim Taesung, leader (partner) of the Defense Industry Center at Samil PwC, said, "Defense organizations around the world face challenges in securing talent, strengthening capabilities, and utilizing AI in workforce management. The most important response has been to expand investment in retraining existing personnel to enhance their capabilities." He added, "As the need for adopting AI technologies, introducing unmanned weapon systems, and shortening procurement cycles grows, the active use of advanced civilian technology is more urgent than ever. If strategies to strengthen and retrain defense personnel are implemented alongside this, it will create significant synergy."

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