In case you missed it with, well, everything else that’s been going on, it’s been a pretty busy week in South Korea.
On Tuesday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung committed to increasing defense spending next year to 66.3T won ($46B). Then, Hegseth popped by on a two-day visit to meet with his counterpart, Defense Secretary Ahn Gyu-back, then took a quick jaunt (complete with binoculars) to the demilitarized zone.
Plus, a whole bunch of our deftech friends—including Allen Control Systems and Applied Intuition—said they would be expanding ops and contracts in the country.
So, with all of this buzz, we thought we’d take a deeper look at what’s happening with South Korea’s defense buildup, and why all of this limelight all of a sudden?
Wide-angle view: First, a baby-step back. In case you weren’t aware (really?), South Korea’s got a bit of a bad neighbor problem. North and South Korea have been at war for over 70 years—yes, 70 years—which has made defense kind of a big deal in Seoul.
It hasn’t helped that in recent years, the North—under the leadership of “Rocket Man” Kim Jong Un—has made some serious weapons development moves (especially of the nuclear flavor) alongside its BFFs Russia and Iran.
That very immediate threat has pushed South Korea to up its spending on all things military, making it one of the top ten defense spenders in the world.
Flexi: Luckily, South Korea’s got friends in high places, too. The US is a pretty steadfast ally of the East Asian country, and has had about 28,500 troops stationed there since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
- The US has approved nearly $30B in weapons sales to South Korea in the past ten years.
- South Korea and the US co-develop weapons, including the KF-21 fighter and L-SAM missile system.
- The country is also part of the F-35 program, and the US has deployed THAADs in the South to defend against North Korean missile threats.
- In October, the US and South Korea pledged to expand cooperation on drone development during a visit by Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll.
During his visit this week, Hegseth reaffirmed this commitment—and the whole dang military alliance—but with a tiny little asterisk: He said that the tens of thousands of troops stationed in South Korea may now be used to counter broader regional threats, including China. However, protecting against North Korea, he said, would remain their primary goal.
Seems like someone’s got an eye on 2027.
Setting up shop: Hegseth isn’t the only one who’s taken a shine to Seoul lately. The defense tech world is on the South Korea train, too.
- Vehicle autonomy company Applied Intuition announced yesterday that it was expanding its footprint in South Korea.
- Allen Control Systems said this week that it had won a contract with the Republic of Korea Armed Forces for its Bullfrog automated machine gun.
- In August, Anduril officially expanded to South Korea and announced that it would open an office in Seoul. The company also partnered with Korean Air to build “UAS products, license production of additional Anduril products for the Indo-Pacific region, and explore the potential for a manufacturing and production facility in the Republic of Korea.”
- Earlier this week, propulsion company Firehawk announced that it’s scored a “strategic investment” from the US arm of Korean defense giant Hanwha.
- Hanwha has also teamed up with maritime autonomy company HavocAI to “jolt” the defense industry.
- Shield AI has also teamed up with both Hyundai Rotem and Korean Air.
Last month, President Lee said that a lot of this new, increased budget (which Hegseth loved, btw) would be going to autonomous and cutting-edge tech. Looks like all of our American friends are trying to snag a piece of the drone pie.
Who wants to take a scouting trip to Seoul?