President Lee Appoints Kang Hoon-sik as Special Envoy for Strategic Economic Cooperation... To Lead $79 Trillion Defense Exports

[Financial News] On the 17th, President Lee Jae Myung appointed Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik as the President's Special Envoy for Strategic Economic Cooperation. According to a written briefing by Kang Yu-jeong, spokesperson for the Office of the President of South Korea, this move aims to fulfill the national policy objective of making the K-Defense Industry one of the world's top four defense powers.
Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik will begin his mission next week by visiting European countries that are potential partners for defense cooperation, delivering a personal letter from the President. Over the first half of next year, he is scheduled to carry out three missions as special envoy for strategic economic cooperation.
Traditionally, the success of defense exports depended more on the capabilities of individual defense companies rather than intergovernmental cooperation. However, recently, mega defense projects being rapidly pursued in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia require comprehensive government support—including financial assistance, industrial cooperation, and collaboration with defense startups—beyond just defense and security. This broad-based support has become a key driver of export success.
The Lee Jae Myung administration is building a defense industry control tower that encompasses the entire Office of the President of South Korea and is advancing a defense industry development strategy, including export support measures, to achieve its goal of making the K-Defense Industry one of the world's top four defense powers.
President Lee appointed Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik as special envoy, representing the entire Office of the President of South Korea, to ensure responsible discussions on comprehensive support measures for security and the economy with target countries for defense exports.
The total value of defense products being negotiated with the countries Kang Hoon-sik is scheduled to visit amounts to approximately $56.2 billion, or about 79 trillion won.
Due to the sensitive nature of ongoing negotiations and relationships with defense export target countries, the specific countries to be visited cannot be disclosed at this time. Nevertheless, with major decisions imminent regarding the selection of contractors for large-scale defense weapons acquisition projects between South Korea and these countries, the visit is being expedited.
Support for defense exports is not a one-time effort; it must be continuously pursued according to the characteristics of each country and the stage of each project. The government plans to maintain step-by-step cooperation, from working-level officials to the highest leadership, in the future.

syj@fnnews.com Seo Young-jun Reporter