{"id":2202543,"date":"2023-10-24T08:00:07","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T23:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2202543"},"modified":"2024-01-01T16:43:57","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T07:43:57","slug":"south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea eyes Saudi \u2018blue ocean\u2019 defense market despite regional risks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Korea and Saudi Arabia are nearing the conclusion of discussions for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.yna.co.kr\/view\/AEN20231023000300315?section=national\/defense\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">extensive defense cooperation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, covering sectors such as antiaircraft systems and firearms, according to South Korean first deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo during President Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/yoon-eyes-middle-east-stability-to-navigate-south-koreas-economic-hurdles\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">state visit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the Middle Eastern nation. Kim described the weapons market in Saudi Arabia as \u201ca blue ocean,\u201d arguing the market provides a vast and untapped potential for Seoul to tap into. Kim highlighted that the collaborations are designed not as a one-off sale but to be \u201clong-term and systematic,\u201d aiming to strategically utilize South Korea\u2019s advanced defense technology to bolster Saudi Arabia\u2019s military capabilities. This aligns with South Korea\u2019s record defense industry exports, which peaked at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/02\/boosting-arms-exports-via-private-military-cooperation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">$17.3 billion<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the previous year, and Yoon\u2019s plans to further increase defense exports in the coming years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In their recent summit, Yoon and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also addressed the ongoing conflict between <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/what-the-hamas-attacks-against-israel-mean-for-south-korea\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Israel and Hamas<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, highlighting an urgent need to resolve the humanitarian crisis. Yoon, without providing firm commitments, stated that the ROK would \u201cfulfill the role needed and contribute to regional stability and the restoration of peace\u201d in the region. The summit ended with a joint statement in which the two leaders pledged their cooperation in multiple sectors and to establish a roadmap for future collaborations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Why It Matters<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Korea\u2019s deepening defense ties with Saudi Arabia raise several risks. For instance, increased involvement in the Middle East exposes South Korea to the region\u2019s geopolitical volatility, particularly if defense technologies are misused in conflicts such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-middle-east-29319423\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yemen\u2019s civil war<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, despite the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/welcoming-talks-in-saudi-arabia-advancing-yemens-peace-process\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ongoing truce and peace talks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The Yoon administration\u2019s moves risk entangling South Korea in regional power dynamics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, continually partnering with Saudi Arabia without calling out the country\u2019s controversial human rights record could pose reputational challenges for South Korea, which has sought to become a \u201cglobal pivotal state\u201d that cooperates with like-minded democratic countries. Balancing economic and defense objectives with ethical responsibilities and international relations will be one of the most important challenges for South Korea to address, especially under the backdrop of increased trade and diplomatic engagement with Middle Eastern countries.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-tags\"><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/business-economy\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Business &amp; Economy<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/defense-security\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Defense &amp; Security<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/inter-korean-foreign-relations\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Inter-Korean &amp; Foreign Relations<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Korea and Saudi Arabia are nearing the conclusion of discussions for extensive defense cooperation, covering sectors such as antiaircraft systems and firearms, according to South Korean first deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo during President Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s state visit to the Middle Eastern nation. Kim described the weapons market in Saudi Arabia as \u201ca [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10407,"featured_media":2202545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[24,26,28],"class_list":["post-2202543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-briefings","tag-business-economy","tag-defense-security","tag-inter-korean-foreign-relations"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>South Korea eyes Saudi \u2018blue ocean\u2019 defense market despite regional risks - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Korea eyes Saudi \u2018blue ocean\u2019 defense market despite regional risks - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Korea and Saudi Arabia are nearing the conclusion of discussions for extensive defense cooperation, covering sectors such as antiaircraft systems and firearms, according to South Korean first deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo during President Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s state visit to the Middle Eastern nation. Kim described the weapons market in Saudi Arabia as \u201ca [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-23T23:00:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-01T07:43:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-16.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"548\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"johnleenknews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"KOREA PRO\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"johnleenknews\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b9766dba611638edc06a6e0b7078714d\"},\"headline\":\"South Korea eyes Saudi \u2018blue ocean\u2019 defense market despite regional risks\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-23T23:00:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-01T07:43:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/\"},\"wordCount\":373,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-16.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Business &amp; Economy\",\"Defense &amp; Security\",\"Inter-Korean &amp; Foreign Relations\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Briefings\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/\",\"name\":\"South Korea eyes Saudi \u2018blue ocean\u2019 defense market despite regional risks - KOREA PRO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-16.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-23T23:00:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-01T07:43:57+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-16.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/assets.korearisk.com\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/10\/eb-16.png\",\"width\":1870,\"height\":1000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/10\/south-korea-eyes-saudi-blue-ocean-defense-market-despite-regional-risks\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"South Korea eyes Saudi \u2018blue ocean\u2019 defense market despite regional risks\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/\",\"name\":\"KOREA PRO\",\"description\":\"Be smart about South Korea. 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