South Korea’s increased arms exports, against the backdrop of a changing geopolitical landscape in Northeast Asia, have driven economic growth for this export-oriented country. Seoul aims to emerge as the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, after the United States, France and Russia.

South Korea has emerged as one of the world’s major weapons exporters.[1] South Korea exports defence products such as howitzers, fighter jets, rocket launchers, tanks and submarines worldwide. The beginning of the Russia–Ukraine war in 2022 has further increased the demand for arms from South Korea.

South Korea has been exporting weapons to the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which are supporting Kyiv in its war against Moscow. South Korean weapons producers have gained a reputation for timely delivery, good quality and reasonable prices.[2] To meet the growing demand, South Korean defence industries have expanded arms production and poured resources into developing more innovative weapon systems. The South Korean defence industry showcased its advancements during South Korea’s 76th Armed Forces Day in October 2024.[3]

Since the 1970s, the South Korean state has played a crucial role in the country’s arms production.[4] Constant threats of North Korean aggression and South Korea’s export-oriented economic development strategy drove the rise of the defence industry in this Northeast Asian country. South Korea’s recent emergence as a major arms exporter also reflects the region’s changing geopolitical landscape. The current Lee Jae Myung administration in Seoul, after coming to power in June 2025, has made promoting arms production and achieving self-reliance in national defence its major security objectives.[5]

Rise of South Korean Defence Industry

The arms race between Seoul and Pyongyang largely drove the development of South Korea’s defence industry.[6] The recent rise of South Korea’s arms exports can be traced back to the 1970s, during the Heavy and Chemical Industrialisation (HCI) drive, against the backdrop of American threats to reduce military support to South Korea. The Park Chung-hee administration (1961–1979) promoted arms industrialisation alongside the country’s rapid economic development. This strategy of “militarised industrialisation” aimed to make South Korea self-reliant in arms production.[7] The South Korean government under Park collaborated with family-controlled mega business groups, or chaebol, such as Hyundai, Samsung and Daewoo, to produce arms for the country.

As an export-oriented development strategy, arms exports have also been regarded as a ‘driver of economic growth’ in South Korea. In this regard, the sudden increase in South Korea’s arms exports has indeed taken the world by surprise. Notably, South Korea’s arms exports increased more than five-fold between 2017 and 2022.[8] Amid the war in Ukraine, which began in 2022, South Korea’s defence exports to Poland and other European countries have increased substantially. Several Asian countries, such as India, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia, have also been buying arms from South Korea or co-producing arms in collaboration with South Korean companies. According to the Export-Import Bank of South Korea, Seoul was estimated to export weapons worth US$ 27 billion in 2026 (Table 1).

Table 1. South Korea’s Weapon Exports

(Unit: US$ 1 billion)

Source: Export-Import Bank, South Korea, cited in Lee Min-hyung, “K-Defense Exports Enter New Phase”, The Korea Times, 19 September 2026.

South Korea has also expanded research and production of newer, innovative weapon systems that apply artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and drone technology. Remarkably, the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration (2022–2025) in South Korea sought to benefit from the boom in arms exports and become the fourth-largest exporter of defence equipment, after the United States, Russia and France.[9] In this regard, South Korea is striving to build modern........

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