The dark side of South Korea’s booming weapons export business

Posted on : 2022-08-16 17:28 KST Modified on : 2022-08-16 17:28 KST
A recently inked arms deal with Poland has prompted questions of whether Korea should consider issues of human rights and democracy when exporting weapons
The ROK Army performs training in K2 tanks. (from ROK Army Facebook)
The ROK Army performs training in K2 tanks. (from ROK Army Facebook)

On July 27, Poland officially announced the signing of a framework agreement to purchase South Korean weapons, including 980 K2 tanks, 670 K9 self-propelled howitzers, and 48 FA-50 light combat aircraft.

The total export amount will vary depending on the specific terms of the contract but the contract is estimated to be worth between 10 trillion and 40 trillion won, including mid- to long-term follow-up logistics support once the weapons have been acquired.

Earlier this year, Korean aerospace and defense contractor LIG Nex1 signed an arms export contract with the United Arab Emirates worth US$3.5 billion for the South Korean domestic interceptor missile Cheongung II. At the time, this deal marked the biggest domestic weapons export agreement to date. But the record it set was broken six months later with the signing of the contract with Poland.

In addition to these major deals, last December, South Korea also signed a contract to supply K9 self-propelled howitzers to Australia and in February signed a deal with Egypt to supply upwards of 2 trillion won worth of weapons, including the K9 self-propelled howitzer, to the North African country.

The rapid growth of South Korean arms exports helped coined a new term: “K-Defense.” If these export trends continue, some predict, South Korea is set to climb from its current 8th place to become the 5th largest arms exporter in the world.

The ROK Army performs training in K9 howitzers. (from ROK Army Facebook)
The ROK Army performs training in K9 howitzers. (from ROK Army Facebook)
South Korea’s growing defense sector

Defense industry insiders believe some reasons for the success of South Korean arms exports include the excellent performance of domestic weapons, the cost-effectiveness compared to US and European weapons, and the ability to deliver these weapons on time and to produce them locally.

After the end of the Cold War, military powers such as those in Europe no longer needed to mass-produce conventional weapons such as tanks and self-propelled artillery. South Korea, however, has maintained a defense industry with the capacity to produce such weapons in large quantities due to the threat it faces from North Korea.

As such, South Korea possesses an industrial capability to mass-produce and quickly supply Poland with the weapons it wants to counter the Russian threat. The Korean defense industry, which was long considered a legacy of the Cold War, is now finding its place in the sun.

However, the rise of the Korean defense sector can’t solely be explained by the cost-effectiveness of Korean weapons. Besides economic factors, international and geopolitical factors also play a major role when it comes to the country’s arms exports.

For example, if we look at those countries that have imported South Korean K9 self-propelled howitzers, the purpose has been to counter threats from Russia (such as Poland and Finland) and threats from China (such as India and Australia).

A sense of insecurity, which has increased since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, was the backdrop behind the large export deal Korean defense contractors inked with Poland last month.

Weapons are completely different products from phones or cars. Arms are goods directly related to life and death. Moreover, both sides of a conflict can make use of arms exports. Weapons invoke a sense of fear and a need to resist, thus prompting their use.

Meanwhile, arms exports have also been controversial in terms of democratic values and human rights.

Back in 1997, Turkey became the first recipient of South Korea’s K9 self-propelled howitzers. Turkey had originally planned to develop its own self-propelled artillery by licensing equipment from German artillery, but ended up importing Korean weapons after Germany refused arms exports to Turkey due to concerns around aggravating conflict and human rights oppression.

Turkey, which eventually did develop its own model for self-propelled artillery thanks to its imports of the K9 howitzers, ended up shelling Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria along its border in October 2019.

At the time, local Korean civic groups condemned Turkey’s invasion of Kurd-controlled Syrian territory and demanded that the Korean government stop exporting weapons to Turkey. The Korean government, however, did not respond.

On the other hand, various European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway, did ban arms exports to Turkey due to concerns regarding Kurdish human rights.

Representatives of the Polish government and South Korean defense contractors pose for a photo on July 27 after inking a framework agreement for the supply of FA-50 light combat aircraft, K2 tanks and K9 howitzers. From left to right are Hyundai Rotem President and CEO Lee Yong-bae, Korea Aerospace Industries President and CEO Ahn Hyun-ho, Hanwha Defense CEO Son Jae-il, and Sebastian Chwalek, the vice president of the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) management board. (pool photo)
Representatives of the Polish government and South Korean defense contractors pose for a photo on July 27 after inking a framework agreement for the supply of FA-50 light combat aircraft, K2 tanks and K9 howitzers. From left to right are Hyundai Rotem President and CEO Lee Yong-bae, Korea Aerospace Industries President and CEO Ahn Hyun-ho, Hanwha Defense CEO Son Jae-il, and Sebastian Chwalek, the vice president of the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) management board. (pool photo)
Why Poland is buying weapons from Korea

Even though Germany, one of the world’s best makers of tanks, is geographically located right next to Poland, there is a reason why Poland decided to import 980 K2 tanks from faraway South Korea.

Although the situation has been changing due to the war in Ukraine, the Polish government has been on bad terms with the EU, including Germany, for quite some time.

The EU has long treated Poland as a country that regularly violates human rights and suppresses free media. Poland, on the other hand, criticized Germany for being too conciliatory toward Russia before the war in Ukraine, thus straining the relationship between the two countries.

Realistically speaking, however, Korea is unlikely to cut off arms supplies to Poland.

Defense exports should not be viewed narrowly as just a “big win” from an industrial point of view, but should be treated as a complex issue involving human rights and international politics.

In January, the Cato Institute, a private security think tank in the US, released its “2021 Arms Sales Risk Index.” The report identifies four different causal pathways by which arms sales might lead to negative outcomes, including corruption, instability, domestic human rights and conflict.

Scores range from 1 to 100; the higher the score the higher the risk.

Countries that scored over 40 included Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, India and Mexico. Among them, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and India are recipients of Korean arms exports.

Nevertheless, amidst these export trends, South Korea’s defense minister, Lee Jong-sup, said that the ministry is also paying attention to universal human values such as human rights when exporting weapons.

On Thursday, Lee told reporters that, while national interest is important to consider when exporting weapons, he also “fully” agrees with the point that universal human values are also “important” to take into consideration.

That day, Lee was asked whether South Korea should follow the Biden administration’s example of adjusting arms export policies to emphasize human rights more.

“When exporting weapons, we do not simply look at the money to decide whether or not we will export them to a specific country,” Lee answered, adding that “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does a lot of checks on these issues and [makes decisions] based on discussions between ministries related to foreign affairs and security.”

By Kwon Hyuk-chul, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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