Ukraine and Russia are fighting fiercely over the other side. South Korea, not far from us, took the opportunity to make a war fortune, and easily reached US$20 billion in military trade in just a few months.
South Korea's arms exports have increased significantly. According to local media reports, South Korea's military industry target has also risen, and position itself as , the fourth largest military industry in the world, . You should know that my country is currently ranked fourth in the world in military industry. Will a series of changes in South Korea have adverse effects on our country?
How strong is South Korea's military industry's strength soaring?
Many people don’t know that South Korea, which has long been blessed by various romantic idol drama filters, is essentially a major arms trading country.
Just before, a Swedish institute released the "2020 Global Arms Trade Report", pointing out that, judging from the world's data, countries' arms exports have basically dropped by about 0.5% from the previous five years.
But while exports from countries around the world continue to decline, South Korea's arms export share soared from 0.9% to 2.7%, more than tripled. . From 2020 to 2022, South Korea's arms exports have also skyrocketed, attracting widespread attention from various countries.
South Korea's weapons exports are mainly trainer , artillery , and ship .
After entering the 21st century, South Korea has formed internationally renowned arms products such as "Sky Bow" surface-to-air missiles. South Korea's defense industry is gradually systematizing, and can produce various weapons and equipment such as aircraft, ships, missiles, tanks, , armored vehicles, heavy artillery, light weapons, and ammunition. conventional weapon is not only self-sufficiency, but also has the market competitiveness of mass exports.
and South Korea Aviation Industry Corporation adopts advanced technology to train third-generation fighter pilots, and the derived aviation aircraft can be used in one aircraft and has been exported to Philippines , Iraq , Thailand and other countries.
It is worth noting that South Korea's shipbuilding industry is at the top level in the world , and civilian ship manufacturing is the top level in the world, and it is also a height that many countries look up to. With the powerful power of shipbuilding and the military ship technology transferred by the United States, South Korea has been able to build some small and medium-sized ships with high quality and low price.
This is very cost-effective for countries that urgently need warships and have insufficient funding budgets. The Philippines is a regular customer who buys the Korean light frigate .
includes Polish This time ordering hundreds of billions of US dollars of arms from South Korea is a full proof of South Korea's military strength. Not only does Poland buy a large number of arms, but other countries also buy a lot of arms from South Korea.
Canada has ordered a lot of shells from South Korea in the past few months, with the purpose of supporting Ukraine. Although South Korea seems to have refused to provide arms assistance to Ukraine on the surface, they provide a lot of arms through other third-party countries.
Many Western countries have achieved their actual purpose by ordering arms from South Korea and then transferring them to the Ukrainian army.
Why can South Korea grow so much military trade in a short period of time?
Logically speaking, if South Korea's military industry strength surged, it would be ranked among the top in the world long before the war broke out, rather than making money in the war. South Korea can grow so much military trade in a short period of time. is mainly used as an intermediary of processing plants. It is difficult to develop in the long run without its own core technology.
Judging from the development for a long time, South Korea is very dependent on the United States, and its core technologies are in the hands of the United States, and even national defense does not have its own strength. As the United States has been stationed in South Korea for a long time, the big brother of the United States has made the way for South Korea in front, so South Korea can naturally be at ease.
South Korea has obtained some technology transferred by the United States, but in terms of military industry strength, South Korea will definitely not be able to enter the top ten. However, South Korea has its own unique marketing strategies and means to sell its products to all parts of the world by itself.
The main factor is South Korea's 's precise positioning of users . In order not to compete with the major arms powers of the United States and Russia, South Korea focuses on Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, , Turkey and other developing countries , which can fully meet the needs of these countries and receive all orders regardless of large orders.
In short, as long as you buy , you will agree to any conditions. Of course, there is another killer weapon in South Korea, which is , which sells goods at the lowest price. Regardless of whether you lose money or not, you should keep potential users or future users first. The subsequent development is not within the scope of consideration.
But in fact, South Korea is essentially a processing factory in various countries around the world, and it still makes hard money. It seems that it is difficult for South Korean military industry to spend time polishing technology and quality control. In order to seize the market and promote itself, it often grabs orders at a very low price, which is just a loss to make a lot of money.
South Korea lacks core arms technology. Many technologies, parts and production arms are provided by the West. South Korea provides more assembled and cheap labor. South Korea, which has become a subcontractor, makes a lot of money in the process. South Korea has just taken advantage of this war, which can only be said that the war needs too much for arms!
Will South Korea's military industry development pose a threat to our country?
South Korea's strategy of small profits and fast sales was successful in a short period of time, and the export of arms increased significantly. The products exported by South Korea are mainly concentrated in light weapons, ammunition, etc., and the prices are relatively low. Compared with European and American countries, South Korea is more punctual and can deliver goods on time, which also enhances other countries' impression of South Korea. Moreover, the after-sales service of South Korea is also very guaranteed and the settlement methods are flexible and diverse, so South Korean weapons are particularly popular in third world countries.
In the international arms trading market, South Korea plays the role of parts providers and component porters, which is also the reason why there are many "Korean goods" in the materials and parts of fighter in Europe and the United States. In order to seize the market, South Korea has even become a supplier of NATO standard ammunition with Singapore and other countries.
At present, South Korea's goal is the fourth largest military industry in the world. However, without mastering the core arms technology, can South Korea reach the end? I think the answer is obviously no.
In recent years, South Korea's arms trade has developed rapidly, but it is still far from the goal of Yoon Seok-yeol to become the fourth largest weapon supplier in the world. Currently sitting in the fourth place in the world is China. South Korea's weapons sales are still far behind, so it is still difficult to surpass them.
Although South Korea's military industry has formed a relatively complete system, some core technologies and key components are still in the hands of the United States and other countries. For example, the engines of the T-50 and the KF-21 fighter that have been sold in recent years in South Korea also come from the United States.
However, the sales of Korean weapons are not the main issue we are concerned about. The problem now is that South Korea's weapons and equipment poses a relatively large competition for similar products of from several countries such as China, Germany and Russia, and will also squeeze the living space of these countries in arms exports and increase the difficulty of exports . This situation requires our country to be vigilant.
But this is actually what the United States is happy to see. Taking China as an example, China's self-propelled artillery and South Korea's artillery are similar in multiple models, forming strong competition. The huge impact brought by the international market is the problem we have to face up to.
At present, the international security situation is complex. Strengthening combat readiness forces to prepare military aspects for the worst possible situation is an important means to ensure my country's medium- and long-term peace.
Faced with the powerful threat from South Korea, our country must further develop its arms and technical equipment, and continuously develop its own technology to enhance the competitiveness of our arms in the international market, and to achieve the ultimate in this field.But at the same time, we should also face it positively with a pragmatic and forward-looking attitude, and do not disrupt our own development pace, increase the foreign export of arms with absolute strength, and convince other countries by enhancing our military strength.
In short, South Korean weapons are popular in the international arms market, which not only have their own advantages, but also the reasons for their strong military industry in recent years. But it has to be said that the future Korean weapons will have a strong impact on Chinese weapons and will also compete with our weapons. We must be vigilant!
