In recent years, the momentum of South Korea’s arms exports is very fierce. During this short decade, South Korea’s arms exports have basically remained between US$2 billion and US$3 billion. But that was shattered last year, when he hit a record $7 billion, and this year it’s a step further, topping $10 billion so far.
If an arms trade agreement can be reached with Australia, Malaysia, and Lowe before the end of the year, South Korea’s arms exports this year are expected to exceed $20 billion. The report of the Export-Import Bank of Korea also shows that from 2017 to 2021, South Korea’s exports increased by 177% compared with the five-year period from 2012 to 2016. This growth rate is higher than that of many European and American countries and is at the forefront of the world. .
Recently, in his speech on the 100th day of his inauguration, Yin Xirui stated that he would support the Chinese industry as a pillar industry in South Korea. I see that these guys are habitually drawing a big pie. South Korea has also become the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter after the United States, Russia and France. South Korea’s arms export momentum is good, but it is still far from fourth in the world in my opinion.
Currently sitting in fourth place in the world is Italy, according to the global arms trade report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in Sweden. South Korea’s arms share is 2%. 8/100 ranks eighth in the world, which I think is quite reliable. But please also pay attention to my friends, it is 2%, objectively speaking, it is the eighth in the world, which is also a very remarkable achievement.
As we all know, South Korea used to be a very backward agricultural country, and it was impossible to talk about science and technology. In the 1960s, Koreans could not even produce bicycles by themselves. I read some articles and analyzed that South Korea is a big arms exporter and cannot be separated from the technology of the United States and the West. A large number of mature analysis systems in the United States and the West have reduced the development cost of South Korean weapons. In addition, South Korea’s relations with Western countries also provide good conditions for South Korea’s arms exports.
There is some truth to these views, for example, South Korea has the hot-selling T-50 fighter jet, as well as the engine of its kf-21 fighter jet. These core equipment all come from the United States. If you think that South Korea’s arms trade exports are based on these to sit on the world’s No. 8 position, it is obviously a bit of a sour grape mentality. In 1969, U.S. President Nixon proposed the New Asia Policy, brewing a gradual withdrawal of troops from South Korea. The South Koreans began to promote the independent construction of national defense. After decades, it should be said that the South Koreans have embarked on a very distinctive development path.
First, South Korea has adopted the form of state-owned scientific research institutions as the dominance and participation of all private enterprises in the construction of the national defense industry. It should be said that the layout and pattern of this kind of arms in South Korea is still very characteristic of the Koreans. In August 1970, the Koreans established the first professional military industry science and trade organization, the Korea National Defense Science Institute, and passed a series of legislation to encourage private enterprises to invest in the defense industry. At present, several major chaebols in South Korea, Hyundai, Samsung, LG and Hanwha, are involved in the military industry. For example, his K-2 main tank is the product of the cooperation between Hyundai and Samsung, and the most typical result of the cooperation between Hanwha Group and the Korean National Defense Science Institute. It’s the K-9 self-propelled gun.
Second, the South Korean government has made great efforts in policy and legal investment and industrialization. In promoting independent innovation in science and technology, the South Korean government has personally planned and advocated the start and development of high-tech. For example, in 1969 the South Korean government issued a five-year plan for the development of cutting-edge industries, and in 1991 the South Korean government also proposed a ten-year science and technology development project. The so-called long-term project is to make South Korea’s science and technology catch up with the level of the seven major Western countries in the 21st century. In 2020, the South Korean government released the core technology plan from 202 to 2034, which provides the core technology required for advanced military systems, provides direction for the development of the next 15 years, and promotes the development of defense industry capabilities. The plan is based on eight key areas of national defense strategy technology, including autonomous and artificial intelligence surveillance and enhancement, high-speed, high-energy precision strikes, and unmanned operations, including 140 detailed technical areas.
Third, it provides a good support for the huge and sound industrial system. From the perspective of the industrial system, South Koreans currently have eight major independent industries including steel, petroleum, chemical industry, automobile manufacturing, machinery, ships, semiconductors, displays and smart phones, except for the latter three? The top five independent industries all have close ties with the Chinese industry. Now, in every industry, South Korea has 1-2 leading companies that are at the world’s leading level. For example, South Korea’s Changpo Steel has been rated as the most internationally competitive by the World Steel Dynamics Corporation, or wsd, for ten consecutive years. Powerful Steel Company. There is no doubt that advanced steel smelting technology has laid a good foundation for the development of the Korean military industry.