Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
INTERVIEW Return of Tusk unlikely to affect arms deal with Korea: Polish expert
Newly elected Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk speaks as he attends a Cabinet swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday (local time). Reuters-Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
Poland in dire need of Korean arms to fill shortage after providing weapons to Ukraine
Newly elected Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is unlikely to cancel arms deals with Korea, according to Marek Swierczynski, a Polish defense expert, amid rising concerns in Korea that the Tusk administration may overturn weapons purchase deals signed under the previous government.
Swierczynski, the head of the security and international affairs desk at Polityka Insight, a Warsaw-based political research center, believes there is little reason for the incoming government to backtrack on already-inked agreements.
Marek Swierczynski, head of the security and international affairs desk at Polityka Insight / Courtesy of Polityka Insight
Although the mega-deals signed in 2022 worth 17 trillion won ($12.4 billion) – Korea's largest-ever arms contract with a single country – have recently come under scrutiny in Poland over financial transparency, and thus may be subject to analysis by the incoming government, there will be no "radical decisions" anytime soon, the researcher said.
"Poland’s 'Korean package' has been subject to some criticism in recent months, mainly based on lack of financial transparency as well as an unclear decision-making process," Swierczynski said in an email interview with The Korea Times.
In particular, the purchase of K-9 self-propelled howitzers has drawn more criticism than other weapons, Swierczynski noted, as critics perceived this as unfair competition to the Poland-made Krab.
Tusk, the leader of a Polish centrist party, was chosen as the country's new prime minister in a parliamentary vote on Monday, replacing former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party. This marked Tusk's second term as the prime minister after serving from 2007 to 2014.
Speaking in the parliament after winning the vote, Tusk said, "We will fix everything together," hinting at major reforms in both domestic and foreign policies.
Swierczynski said, "Generally, the new coalition — by Prime Minister Tusk and Minister of Defense Kosiniak-Kamysz — has declared to keep the contracts and agreements signed by the outgoing government. On the other hand, they say they reserve the right to audit and review all public expenditure, including in defense, as well as aim to verify the real status of public finances and debt."
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the newly-appointed defense minister, has been calling for "analysis and evaluation" of the arms deals signed by the former government.
But at the same time, the minister also pledged not to repeat canceling contracts, as the PiS government once did with the French helicopters in 2016. That year, the Polish government canceled a planned $3.5 billion military helicopter contract with the French firm Airbus, leading to a diplomatic row between the two European nations.
K9 self-propelled howitzers that were delivered in the first batch of arms from Korea maneuver during a military drill in Wierzbiny near Orzysz, Poland, March 30. Reuters-Yonhap
A major reason why the Tusk administration would not scrap the deals with Korea is the prolonged war in Ukraine.
"Poland remains in dire need to gap-fill for the large amounts of equipment donated to Ukraine, and still has not gotten even close to the numbers that were disposed of. There are few or no suppliers but Korea who could deliver in quantity, time and price," Swierczynski said.
From Poland's perspective, there are few European weapons industries as efficient as those of Korea in terms of both delivery time and scale, and thus defense partnerships with Korea may not be the flagship of the Tusk government.
"Plus, the industrial cooperation, though sluggish so far, could be beneficial for both sides if implemented as planned."
Nevertheless, in the long term, Korean defense companies may have to brace for a change in Poland's defense policies.
"One major difference of the Tusk administration's policies from those of PiS (previous administration) is a generally much more sympathetic approach to the European defense agendas, institutions, players, projects and suppliers," Swierczynski said.
If the new Polish administration shifts to European weapons suppliers based on Tusk's pro-EU and pro-NATO defense policies, this may hurt Korean defense companies in the medium and long term, he added.