Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Korea signs W4 tril. export deal with UAE for Cheongung-II missile system
President Moon Jae-in and the UAE Prime Minister and the ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, opposite to Moon, pose during the Cheongung-II missile system export contract exchange ceremony at Expo 2020 Dubai Leadership Pavilion, Sunday. On the far left is Hanwha Systems CEO Eoh Sung-chul and on the far right is Tawazun Technology and Innovation CEO Muammar Abdulla Abushehab. Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
Missile system export deal paves way for local defense firms to gain global standing
By Nam Hyun-woo
DUBAI ― Korea will export its Cheongung-II mid-range surface-to-air missile system to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a deal reportedly worth 4 trillion won ($3.36 billion), marking the first sale of the domestically-developed multi-layered anti-missile system to a foreign country.
According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), Sunday (local time), LIG Nex1, Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Defense each exchanged contracts on Cheongung-II with Tawazun Economic Council, which is the UAE's defense and security acquisitions authority.
They exchanged the contracts in the presence of President Moon Jae-in and the UAE Prime Minister and Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Moon met the prime minister as part of his eight-day trip to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The deal came two months after the UAE's Ministry of Defense tweeted in November that it plans to acquire the missile system.
Minister of Defense Acquisition and DAPA chief Kang Eun-ho told reporters that the deal marks the single most lucrative weapons export contract in the history of Korea's defense industry. Until now, the single largest defense industry export deal, valued at about 1 trillion won, was for submarines sold to Indonesia.
Cheongung-II mid-range surface-to-air missile system/ Courtesy of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration
The Cheongung-II battery, developed by the Agency for Defense Development and contract manufactured by the three companies, is an upgraded version of Cheongung designed to intercept lower-tier ballistic missiles in flight at altitudes of below 40 kilometers and boasts an unmatched precision rate in terms of hit-to-kill capabilities.
“While Cheongung was developed to intercept aircrafts, Cheongung-II is capable of intercepting both aircrafts and ballistic missiles,” Kang said. “I can proudly assure the capability of the system.”
Following the deal, expectation is growing over additional deals between Korean defense firms and other countries defense authorities.
When asked about additional defense-related events during the remainder of Moon's trip, Kang said, “We are making concerted efforts.” He also affirmed that Korea is in negotiation with other countries over Cheongung-II exports.
Along with the missile system deal, DAPA and the UAE's defense ministry signed an MOU for mid- and long-term bilateral cooperation on defense technology, in which the two countries will jointly explore weapons demand and development. Including the Cheongung-II and the defense cooperation MOU, three other documents were signed by Moon and the prime minister.
“During his meeting with the prime minister, President Moon said he is very pleased to sign the defense MOU and see smooth progress in the Cheongung-II deal,” presidential spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee said. “Moon also stressed the two efforts for reciprocal defense cooperation, which results in joint research, development, manufacturing in the UAE and joint export to third countries.”
Meanwhile, the scheduled meeting between Moon and Abu Dhabi Crown Price Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday was canceled.
A senior official at the presidential office said their meeting “was planned on Monday on the occasion of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, but the crown prince is unavailable to attend the event due to inevitable reasons.”
The official did not provide the reasons, but added Abu Dhabi respectfully requests understanding, citing an “unforeseen and urgent matter of state.”
To questions asking whether the cancelation is related to COVID-19, the official said the crown prince's representatives did not elaborate on the matter.