South Korea, one of the allies of the United States, wants a special economic and military relationship with Romania

South Korea, one of the United States’ allies, wants to develop a special economic and military relationship with Romania, offering to produce tracked howitzers and infantry fighting vehicles in Romania, launching this offer right during the visit in President Iohannis’ South Korea.

President Klaus Iohannis paid a three-day visit to South Korea, accompanied by several government officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Energy and the Minister of National Defense. According to MApN, the Romanian Minister of Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, and his counterpart from South Korea, Shin Wonsik, signed the “Agreement between the Government of Romania and the Government of the Republic of Korea regarding cooperation in the field of defense, the first document of this kind concluded between the two countries” .

“I am convinced that this agreement will provide a solid basis for our future cooperation in the field of defense, to the benefit of both states. I believe that there are a variety of fields and projects of interest for Romania and the Republic of Korea, especially in terms of technology transfer and the adaptation of our armies to the challenges of the future. The agreement on cooperation in the military field represents an important step in the development of bilateral relations, opening new opportunities for collaboration in areas such as military education, joint training of personnel, military medicine, research and development and the defense industry”, announced the Romanian minister, Angel Tîlvar.

Romania does not present details about the military programs in which it will cooperate with South Korea. Instead, representatives of the South Korean side specified, for “Free Romania”, that it is Hanwha Aerospace, the largest company in the aerospace and defense industry in South Korea. This company wants to sell two types of armored vehicles for the Romanian Army: the K9 Tunet self-propelled howitzer and the Redback infantry fighting vehicle.

“Hanwha Aerospace is committed to maximizing the benefits for the Romanian defense industry through various types of localization programs, which include local production of defense equipment, local employment, technology transfer and the establishment of a center of excellence for defense operations maintenance and repairs. We focus on the integration of Romanian industrial capacity in the development of customized advanced defense equipment for the Romanian Armed Forces. The inclusion of Romanian industry in the broad global supply chains of Hanwha Aerospace is one of the potential benefits that Romania could obtain from this collaboration”, said Peter Bae, Vice President of Hanwha Aerospace Europe. For Romania, the South Korean company promises “localization efforts, which include local production, jobs, technology transfer and the establishment of an MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) facility.”

The K9 TUNET is a 155-millimeter tracked artillery system. About 1,800 such vehicles are operated by nine countries, five of which are NATO members – Poland, Norway, Estonia, Finland and Turkey. In turn, the Redback armored car, intended for infantry, includes a number of new technologies, among which are composite rubber tracks and a “hard-kill” active protection system. The economic press from South Korea announced, at the beginning of 2024, that the value of the contract with Romania would be 725.7 million dollars.

For the first time in the history of relations between Romania and South Korea, the two Ministers of Defense, Angel Tîlvăr and Shin Wonsik, signed a bilateral agreement on defense cooperation. Based on this agreement, Romania could benefit from the transfer of technology from South Korea, stated the Romanian Minister of Defense, Angel Tîlvăr.

“The agreement on cooperation in the military field represents an important step in the development of bilateral relations, opening new opportunities for collaboration in areas such as military education, joint training of personnel, military medicine, research and development and the defense industry”

Angel Tilvar,

Minister of National Defense

Presidents Klaus Iohannis and Yoon Suk Yeol signed the “Joint Declaration regarding the strengthening of the Strategic Partnership Romania – Republic of Korea”. The head of the Romanian state announced that companies from South Korea could invest in Romania in the infrastructure of the Constanța port, in energy, in agriculture and in the defense industry, but without giving details.

“In the dialogue we had, we encouraged the substantial increase of South Korean investments in our country, especially in infrastructure – such as the port between the ports of Constanța and Busan, in energy, in agriculture, as well as in the defense industry, an area where jobs can be created for Romanians”

Klaus Iohannis,

The President of Romania

South Korea, whose official name is the Republic of Korea, has been a strategic partner of Romania in the Asia-Pacific region since 2008, emphasized President Iohannis.

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