South Korea emerges as fastest-growing arms exporter in the world

South Korea has emerged as the world’s fastest-growing arms exporter, vastly outpacing the growth of other major market players in recent years.

According to a recent report by the Export-Import Bank of Korea, the nation’s arms exports hit a record high of more than seven billion dollars last year. Its exports during the 2017-21 period were 177 per cent higher than that in the 2012-16 period ― by far the highest growth among the top 20 exporters, followed by Australia (98 per cent) and France (59 per cent).

South Korea’s share of global arms exports nearly tripled to 2.8 per cent from 1 per cent. It is now the world’s eighth largest, and Asia’s second (after China), arms exporter – a rapid rise from 31st position on the list by the SIPRI arms transfer database back in 2000.

“Exports of naval vessels grew by 1,660 per cent (during the 2017-21 period compared to 2012-16) which led the trend,” the report says. “Arms exports are estimated to continue to grow. The number is expected to reach US$10 billion in 2022.”

The Philippines and Indonesia are the two biggest buyers of South Korean weapons, accounting for 16 per cent and 14 per cent of its sales, respectively. Although the Asian region will remain an important market, the country is expanding its global presence with its newly developed military hardware.

In January, South Korea signed a deal with the United Arab Emirates to export its Cheongung-II medium-range surface-to-air missiles, developed by the Agency for defence Development (ADD), in its largest-ever arms export deal.