Latest news with #SeokJong-gun
Korea Herald
29-07-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
S. Korea in talks to launch NATO defense consultative body in September
South Korea is in talks with NATO to launch a working-level defense consultative body as early as September, through which it would seek to expand opportunities for local defense firms to enter the European market. The inaugural session of the consultative body is being discussed for late September in Brussels, Belgium, with final arrangements still being coordinated by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and NATO, according to an official at the arms procurement agency on Tuesday. The consultative body would aim to strengthen cooperation across a wide range of defense areas, including joint weapons acquisition and research and development, logistics support, standardization and airworthiness certification, and training and education. Its launch is expected to provide South Korean defense companies with an additional export channel to NATO's European member states, the official said. The consultative body was first proposed by DAPA Commissioner Seok Jong-gun during his visit to Belgium in April. It gained traction following a meeting between National Security Office Director Wi Sung-lac and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in The Hague on the sidelines of the NATO summit in June. During Wi's visit to The Hague, the two sides also discussed the possibility of Seoul's participation in NATO's High Visibility Projects, a next-generation program focused on the joint development and procurement of advanced military capabilities. With NATO member states set to boost their defense budgets, the European market is emerging as a strategic opportunity for South Korean defense exporters. In June, NATO member states agreed to raise their total defense-related expenditure to 5 percent of gross domestic product by 2035, including 3.5 percent allocated to defense budgets and 1.5 percent to indirect investments, apparently in response to US President Donald Trump's demands that they increase defense spending. The projected expansion of the European defense market is seen as a timely opportunity for South Korean defense firms, which are known for their cost competitiveness and rapid delivery, the DAPA official added.
The Star
13-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
South Korea agrees to cut Indonesia share in fighter jet project
JAKARTA/SEOUL (Bloomberg): Indonesian and South Korean officials have signed a revised deal that significantly lowers Jakarta's financial commitment to the joint KF-21 fighter jet program, a move aimed at reviving long-stalled progress on the multibillion-dollar project. South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Friday that the new deal reflects a resolution made last year to revise Indonesia's share of the development costs. In August, DAPA had said Indonesia would contribute 600 billion won to the project, equivalent to about US$438.4 million, marking a drop from 1.6 trillion won originally pledged. DAPA said Indonesia's defense ministry had begun administrative procedures to fulfill the revised payment, a step it said it expects will reinvigorate defense ties between the countries. It added that both sides also agreed to expand cooperation beyond fighter jets to include ground and maritime systems. Indonesia's defense ministry declined to immediately comment. The new deal comes years after defense officials from Southeast Asia's largest economy agreed to contribute roughly 20% of the more than 8 trillion won project as it sought to upgrade aging military fleets. The KF-21 Boramae, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries, is intended to replace South Korea's fleet of F-4 and F-5 fighter jets. Indonesia is working on a localized variant known as IF-X, with state-owned Dirgantara Indonesia involved in assembly, maintenance, and production planning. Progress for the KF-21 program, aimed at producing a next-generation supersonic aircraft, was marred by funding disputes and other problems. Indonesia has been pursuing upgrades of its fleet of fighter jets on several fronts, including in an active contract with France's Dassault Aviation SA for 42 Rafale jets, signed in 2022 with an estimated value of $8.1 billion. Last week, Indonesian defense officials said they were in the early stages of evaluating an offer for China's J-10 fighters. This week, Turkey's president announced a deal to sell Jakarta 48 of its KAAN fighter jets currently under development. DAPA Director Seok Jong-gun, among the South Korean officials in Indonesia this week, said his visit marked a return to normal for defense ties between Seoul and Jakarta, moving on from what he described as a period of strain due to technical issues. -- ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Korea Herald
24-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Arms agency chief meets senior EU, NATO officials to discuss defense cooperation
The head of South Korea's arms procurement agency held talks with high-level European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials this week to discuss ways to expand defense industry cooperation, his office said Thursday. Defense Acquisition Program Administration Minister Seok Jong-gun met European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius in Brussels on Wednesday, as Seoul seeks to strengthen arms industry ties with Europe amid the continent's rearmament push. During the talks, Kubilius shared Europe's rearmament plans, while Seok briefed him on South Korea's arms industry capabilities and proposed joint research and development for advanced technologies, according to DAPA. It marked the first time that a DAPA minister has held talks with a high-ranking EU official, DAPA said. Seok also met NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska the same day and proposed forming a joint consultative body on arms industry cooperation and holding its inaugural meeting this year. Seok emphasized the need for an integrated deterrence strategy between the Indo-Pacific and the North Atlantic, citing Russia's war on Ukraine that has led to calls for interoperability between the weapons systems of South Korea and NATO, it said. Meanwhile, Shekerinska thanked South Korea for its support for Ukraine and shared the need for cooperation on joint research and development of advanced weapons systems, according to DAPA. The talks took place after the EU last month unveiled a new white paper titled, "Readiness 2030," outlining plans to enhance the continent's defense capabilities over the next five years. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
28-03-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Arms agency chief discuss K9, cooperation in Norway
The head of the state arms procurement agency held talks with key defense officials in Norway earlier this week to discuss arms industry cooperation and the operation of the South Korean K9 self-propelled howitzer, officials said Friday. Seok Jong-gun, minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, met Norway's State Secretary of Defence Andreas Flam on Wednesday, according to DAPA. In the meeting, they discussed Norway's operation of self-propelled howitzers, as well as potential upgrades and additional supplies of the K9 weapons system for the Scandinavian nation. Seok also introduced the Chunmoo multiple launch rocket system as a weapons system that could be supplied at an optimal period for Norway's bid to acquire long-range precision strike weapons systems, DAPA said. In his meeting with Oyvind Kvalvik, deputy director general at the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency, Seok discussed ways to strengthen arms cooperation, such as research and development, in areas that included space, missile and electronics warfare. Norway is among the nine countries outside of South Korea that have acquired the K9, along with Australia, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, India, Poland, Romania and Turkey. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
24-03-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
S. Korea, Indonesia reaffirm cooperation for joint fighter jet project
South Korean and Indonesian defense officials have reaffirmed their cooperation for a joint project to develop the KF-21 fighter jet, the South's arms procurement agency said Monday. Seok Jong-gun, minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and Donny Ermawan Taufanto, Indonesia's deputy minister of defense, discussed the joint development project, as well as other arms cooperation agenda items, during their meeting in Jakarta on Friday, DAPA said. South Korea's defense authorities approved a plan last year to reduce Indonesia's contribution to the project to build the advanced supersonic fighter by 2026 to 600 billion won ($409 million) from the original amount of 1.6 trillion won, following Jakarta's repeated payment delays. Indonesia initially agreed to pay about 20 percent of the 8.1 trillion-won program launched in 2015 in return for technology transfers and one prototype model, among other conditions. The project had also been hampered by technology leak allegations involving a team of Indonesian engineers dispatched to South Korea. "As the first high-level meeting that took place after the probe into Indonesian engineers, the talks served as an occasion for normalizing bilateral arms cooperation that had slightly been strained," Seok said, vowing to use it as "momentum" to expand cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation. Taufanto was quoted as highlighting the competitiveness of South Korean arms equipment, such as the KT-1 and T-50 aircraft, and stressed the country is "faithfully" carrying out contracts and maintaining cooperative ties in various areas, according to DAPA. (Yonhap)
