South Korea’s Emergent Role in Global Defense Scaling
11 pages · PDF · 18 November 2025 · Licensed single-user copy, watermarked to the buyer
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About this report
South Korea has rapidly transformed from a defense importer into a formidable arms manufacturing and export powerhouse, positioning itself as a crucial global supplier in an age of rearmament.
This shift is strikingly evident in Seoul’s recent multi-billion dollar arms deals, which in 2022 alone topped a record $17 billion – more than double the previous year. Once largely reliant on U.S. imports, South Korea now ranks among the top ten arms exporters and is ambitiously aiming to become the fourth-largest by 2027.
Key questions this report answers
- How has South Korea transformed from a defense importer into a major arms manufacturer and exporter?
- What recent multi-billion-dollar arms deals (e.g. a record $17 billion in 2022) illustrate this scaling?
- Which markets and factors underpin Seoul's ambition to become the fourth-largest arms exporter by 2027?
- What is the strategic outlook and what are the implications for global defense scaling and European buyers?
Who it's for
Strategy, corporate-development and investment teams that need an ecosystem-level view — budgets, industrial capacity and technology landscapes — before committing capital or capacity.
Methodology & sources
DFM reports are built from primary and official sources — TED procurement notices, CORDIS and the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, EIB operations, the NATO Innovation Fund portfolio, SIPRI data, official budget documents and company disclosures — read together with the underlying legal texts. Sources are cited in the document; the report reflects them as of its publication date (18 November 2025).
Format & delivery
11-page PDF, watermarked to you (name, e-mail, order number on every page). Delivered immediately after checkout on the confirmation page and by e-mail; the personal link is valid for 72 hours and up to 5 downloads (re-issued on request). Guest checkout — no account required. Single-user licence: see the Terms of Sale.
The full analysis, not the summary
The public briefing linked above tells you what this report found; the report itself shows the full evidence and reasoning behind it. It is the complete, dated document from the DFM research desk — sources cited, delivered as a licensed PDF you can keep and cite in your own work.
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