When the European Union (EU) leaders were conducting arm-wrestling negotiations in the last week of June over the EU’s top jobs following the outcome of the European Parliament elections, a different piece of news from Brussels sent Seoul’s and Tokyo’s rumor mills churning. Citing an unnamed senior European Commission official, Nikkei Asia reported that the EU is attempting to establish security and defense industry partnerships with South Korea and Japan to jointly develop military equipment.¹ No such security and defense-related collaboration has previously occurred in the ROK-EU strategic partnership. However, the capacity and capability of South Korea’s defense industry have become important strategic and economic considerations for many EU and NATO member states. Spurred by the dramatic increase in defense expenditures by many European governments following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as rising geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East, South Korea has emerged as a viable alternative to more traditional suppliers offering cost-effective military sales. European countries targeted by Seoul’s defense exports already include Poland, Finland, Norway, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, Slovakia, Czechia, and the UK.
The Yoon administration has been pursuing an ambitious target of climbing from eighth place to fourth place in the global defense export rankings by capturing 5 percent (or more) of the market by 2027.² Meanwhile, Europeans have stepped up efforts at the supranational and intergovernmental levels to reduce manufacturing and technology dependencies by ramping up weapons production on the continent. The impetus toward a more strategically autonomous and technologically sovereign Europe comes primarily from a desire to reduce reliance on U.S. leadership and hardware support for European security. That said, its implications may go beyond the transatlantic dimension of defense cooperation, holding significance for third countries and strategic partners, including South Korea.
This Issue Brief examines how South Korea can enhance defense engagement patterns with a range of European actors in light of the sizeable arms export deals the country has secured so far and proceeds as follows: First, it provides context for South Korea’s approach to arms exports and the key assets that have underpinned its success in the global procurement market, particularly in light of the lessons learned from the ongoing war in Ukraine. Second, it explores Seoul’s defense engagements with three European countries—Poland, Germany, and the United Kingdom (UK)—each of which represents particular dynamics that reflect the fragmented and heterogeneous nature of the region’s defense landscape. Finally, it identifies elements that South Korea should consider to consolidate its position. The first element pertains to creating a more conducive financial framework for facilitating defense export deals. The second element refers to ongoing initiatives in the EU aimed at incentivizing its member states to develop the necessary industrial depth. This analysis represents an important and timely intervention that contributes to the debate on South Korea’s defense and security choices amid the persisting gap between its quest to assume an integral role in the greater regional and global security architecture and an atmosphere of constraint, especially in South Korea’s domestic and immediate neighborhood.

Introduction
Sources of Strength and Lessons Learned
State of Affairs of ROK-Europe Defense Engagement
The Push for “Made in the EU” Defense
Policy Recommendations
Conclusion