ROK-U.S. Defense Industry Cooperation and Alliance

OPINION:

The Republic of Korea’s defense industry has been demonstrating a striking growth in both quantity and quality since the turn of 2020. The surge of arms exports in recent years has driven Korea’s defense industry, or the “K-defense,” to rise to prominence. Now, the world sees and recognizes the country’s military systems, which have the quality to meet the rigorous requirements of its allies and partners. These capabilities range from single systems, like the K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer, to large platforms like naval vessels and aircraft that epitomize the finest technology.

Arms export has far more implications than just economic payoffs. The defense industrial sector ensures a nation’s self-reliant defense posture. It is an advanced strategic industry that drives future economic growth, and also a peace industry that upholds global security. It is imperative in that this flagship industry advances allies’ national security through the supply of weapons systems and responds effectively to emerging global security threats. Thus, Korea’s defense export is a culmination of its ability to strengthen the defense industrial base of its purchasing nations — with diverse localization strategies including technology transfer or infrastructure building — and an unrelenting commitment to safeguarding the values of global peace, stability and liberal democracy in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.

The United States in particular is a longstanding ally with whom Korea has continued to strengthen its relationship through defense industry cooperation. Since 1953, when the two nations signed the Mutual Defense Treaty following the end of the Korean War, the U.S. and Korea have forged an ironclad alliance on the firm basis of a collective commitment to strategic partnership and regional and global security in a bid to share and achieve common values. Korea’s defense industry has continued to record steady growth on the back of bilateral industrial cooperation, which includes technology transfer, joint R&D, and, in the past, military aids. These efforts came to fruition when Korea became capable of developing its own capabilities. These capabilities have grown to the extent that, when Korea conducts combined operations with the U.S. Armed Forces, it provides maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) services to U.S. military systems. 

Defense industry cooperation is the cornerstone of a security alliance because it deals directly with military capabilities critical to safeguarding a nation and its people. This means that the history of ROK-U.S. defense industry cooperation follows the exact same trajectory of their alliance. In other words, this alliance and partnership in defense industry have become the nutrients fertilizing Korea’s defense industry to blossom in the form of defense export and strengthened alliance. The burgeoning flowers, once fallen, will return to soil as nutrients for the next blossom to uptake. Cultivating a virtuous cycle, the two countries’ defense industry cooperation, arms export and alliance are not a one-way flow; they are a bidirectional relationship.

The recent developments around the world, including the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic coupled with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have triggered various global security threats, one of which is an unprecedented defense supply chain crisis. In response, the Republic of Korea and the United States signed the Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) in November 2023 to provide a framework for jointly establishing a stable defense supply chain. Furthermore, Seoul and Washington are scaling up their efforts to sign the Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement (RDP-A) – and the internal process for this treaty has already begun. These efforts followed the joint statement by President Yoon Suk Yeol and President Joe Biden during the 2023 summit, which underscored the importance of the RDP-A as a mechanism to further expand the defense partnership into industrial collaboration.

The U.S. Department of Defense released the National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) early this year, outlining the vision of a dynamic, resilient and modernized defense ecosystem that cannot be achieved without collaborative efforts between allies and partners. ROK-U.S. defense industry cooperation will produce a solid foundation in which jobs are created and economies thrive, in turn shaping a robust defense industry of both countries. This healthy circulation will form the underlying basis for building stronger defense export capabilities and alliances going forward.

The outlook of the ROK-US bilateral defense industry cooperation is more promising than ever. There are myriad windows of opportunity to move forward as the two engage in various cooperative activities. These include the MRO services for timely maintenance of systems in operation; development of advanced technologies with government-level strategic support and investment; and entering third-country markets through joint development. The Republic of Korea will always be grateful for the assistance offered by the U.S. during tough times in the postwar period. I have every certainty that there is no challenge that we cannot defeat, if we continue working closely towards building a stronger base for the defense industry and arms export in the spirit of shared values and mutual trust. The time is ripe for the alliance and the defense industry cooperation to synergize with each other and illuminate their shared strength.