IN 2022, South Korean arms exports grew by 140 percent to $17.3 billion from $7.25 billion in 2021. That figure represents the highest arms exports in the history of South Korea. According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), South Korea's share of the global arms exports over a five-year period ending in 2021 was 2.8 percent, making it the eighth largest in the world. By comparison, during the preceding five-year period, South Korean arms exports accounted for just 1 percent of the global output for 13th place overall.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has grand ambitions for his country's defense industry, calling it a "new growth engine" for the future and a "driving force for high-tech industries." Yoon sees his country becoming the world's fourth largest arms exporter after the United States, Russia and France by 2027. Agreements with Poland, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are expected to help South Korea's push toward greater weapons exports in the coming years.
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