The Democratic Party of Korea on Monday decided to push through a bill to require the government to obtain consent from the National Assembly before allowing exports of defense articles.
If the Defense Industry Development and Support Act is revised as written by Democratic Rep. Kim Byung-joo, the government will have to ask the Assembly if it assents to such exports. Lawmakers will then have 30 days to deliberate on the request behind closed doors and make a decision. Every instance of defense exports will have to go through this process.
If the bill becomes law, defense exports and related national security policies will be swayed by the political schemes of the majority party. At present, the minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration has the right to permit munitions exports. However, the opposition party is trying to acquire the right of de facto final approval.
One of the strengths of South Korea's defense exports is their rapid delivery. Thanks to this factor, countries in Europe and the Middle East choose South Korean weapons. But the additional procedure of Assembly consent will delay the signing of contracts and product delivery.
The party says this will be no problem because the bill says “within 30 days.” Yet this does not mean automatic approval after 30 days. Secret negotiations and export strategies could be exposed in the meantime. The bill only benefits South Korea‘s competitors.
In recent years, South Korean munitions have emerged as a major export industry together with nuclear power plants. Especially since the war in Ukraine began, orders for arms from NATO countries have increased remarkably.
South Korea's defense exports fell slightly to $14 billion last year, but they are expected to rebound to $20 billion this year. The number of export destinations rose from four countries in 2022 to 12 last year. Export markets expanded to Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South America. The kinds of weapons exported have expanded, too, to include tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery, missiles, vessels and advanced trainer jets.
The growth of South Korea's defense industry also enhances its security, diplomacy and national power. Once a country buys South Korean defense articles, it is likely to keep purchasing related products as they are improved and updated in the future.
The bill reflects the Democratic Party's political intent to stymie the Yoon Suk Yeol government’s response to the acceleration of cooperation between North Korea and Russia. Rep. Kim justifies the bill as a measure to protect national interests. He said the Assembly needs to control defense exports because this issue can aggravate South Korea’s relations with countries in conflict with states that import South Korean weapons. This argument is unconvincing.
The party opposes South Korea supplying weapons to Ukraine, arguing that this would amount to intervention in the war. The government has said it could consider supplying such arms depending on developments in North Korea-Russia relations. If Russia rewards North Korea for sending troops by supplying the North with military technologies that it does not currently have, this will pose a serious threat to the security of South Korea. It would be neglecting its duty if the government sat idle in this situation. This bill would tie its hands.
Seoul’s consideration of possibly supplying weapons to Ukraine was prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and North Korea’s dispatch of troops. Should South Korea give up on defense exports in order to avoid offending aggressor countries? Under the logic of this bill, South Korea would have no country to export its weapons to.
The bill would enable the majority Democratic Party to select the defense items to export and the countries to receive them as they please. The government has already been exercising its power to review and approve defense exports without a problem, so the bill only imposes an excessive double control.
If the bill becomes law, astronomical damage to the country’s defense industry will be inevitable. It is lamentable that the majority party is throwing a wet blanket on this industry. The bill must be scrapped.
