President Lee Jae-myung on Oct. 20 said he would use a major increase in defense spending as an opportunity to advance industry and the economy to achieve the national agenda of "achieving the world's top four in the K-defense sector." He also said he would inject massive budgets into defense research and development (R&D) and aerospace R&D.
At a defense industry development forum held at KINTEX in Ilsan that day, Lee said, "If the defense industry is to serve as a key catalyst leading the private sector's advanced technology industries, government support and roles are important." He said the following must be prioritized: ▲ localization of weapons and diversification of markets ▲ giving priority to applying localized weapon systems to Korea's defense ▲ providing competitive opportunities to startups and small and midsize enterprises.
Lee said, "To export overseas, we must be able to say 'it is being used well in our country,'" and added, "Localization is important, and it is very important to actually apply localized weapon systems to our defense." He also raised the issue of fairness in the defense-sector ecosystem. Lee said, "If there is capability, drive, and technology, it is important to create an environment in which startups and small and midsize enterprises can fairly gain opportunities to participate."
He added, "Perhaps we should provide more support and backing to startups and small and midsize enterprises," and said, "Large corporations that already have an enormous vested system have likely received considerable benefits from the government of Korea. From a fairness perspective, I think we need to nurture many seedlings."
The presidential office has designated this week as "K-defense sector week" and is focusing national momentum on the field. The previous day, Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik departed to visit major defense cooperation countries as a "special envoy for strategic economic cooperation." In Sep., Lee met with Polish President Karol Nawrocki on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly to discuss strengthening defense cooperation, and this time the government also decided to dispatch a delegation of special envoys that includes domestic defense companies.
At the opening ceremony of the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) held before the forum, Lee also said, "We will invest an extraordinary, massive budget in defense and aerospace research and development by 2030," adding, "Through this, we will secure core defense technologies and weapon systems and build independent space development capabilities." He added, "We will expand opportunities for the private sector to propose world-class technologies and equipment to the military, and we will expand the defense-industry fast-track system so they can be applied to the military."