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Korea’s defense stocks tumble amid fallout of Yoon's folly

Arms exporters dismiss short-term business impact, but call for normalization of government roles

By Kan Hyeong-woo

Published : Dec. 8, 2024 - 15:31

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Hanwha Aerospace's K9 self-propelled howitzer (Hanwha Aerospace) Hanwha Aerospace's K9 self-propelled howitzer (Hanwha Aerospace)

The stock prices of Korean defense firms have been battered in recent days, as concerns grow that the fallout of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration could harm the outlook for the country’s defense industry.

Shares of Hanwha Aerospace closed at 298,000 won ($209) on Friday, down about 12 percent from Tuesday's close. Yoon declared martial law on Tuesday night, prompting the National Assembly to pass the motion to dismiss the martial law decree early Wednesday.

Shares of Hyundai Rotem fell to 47,250 won by the end of the week, down approximately 12 percent from Tuesday’s closing. The stock price of Korea Aerospace Industries ended at 55,2000 won per share, down 10 percent from Tuesday’s closing. LIG Nex1 underwent a similar downfall as its shares dropped to 188,900 won on Friday, down 7 percent from Tuesday’s closing.

Sadyr Japarov, president of Kyrgyzstan who was on a state visit to South Korea on Tuesday, canceled a planned trip to KAI’s headquarters in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, in the wake of the martial law declaration.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who was expected to have talks with Korean defense firms, also postponed his plan to visit Seoul on Thursday.

Despite the falling share prices and cancelled meetings, defense industry officials and former government officials said the current political state is unlikely to impact the country’s arms exports in the short term, but advised that the martial law turmoil must be resolved quickly.

An official at a defense firm said the export contracts that Korean defense companies already inked with overseas buyers would go through as agreed, but how quickly political stability is recovered will have an important impact.

“The fallout of martial law is about the country’s reliability and continuity,” said the official.

“It will be about the matter of how fast the chaos can be resolved. But the National Assembly’s swift reaction and Korea’s democratic system have been highly recognized.”

Another official at a different defense firm noted that practical negotiations and talks were carried out by the working-class level so the shakeup at the leadership level will have limited impacts.

“However, as for the future defense export deals, (the martial law chaos) could have impacts as they are government-to-government businesses,” the official added. “The countries that have dealt with us will be okay but pioneering a deal with a new client could be hit.”

A former high-ranking official at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration underlined that the declaration of martial law was abnormal and had negative impacts on the stock prices of Korean defense firms.

“The defense industry is about national security,” he said. “What President Yoon did has rattled the roots of national security so it dampened our country’s accountability. However, as crisis comes with opportunity, we could demonstrate our resiliency by showing how early we can normalize everything.”

Meanwhile, Poland, a key buyer of Korean arms, said it intended to continue its strong partnership with Korean defense firms.

Polish Secretary of State Jacek Siewiera posted on his social media account on Wednesday that he had talks with Seok Jong-gun, minister of DAPA, and officials at Hyundai Rotem and Hanwha Aerospace, saying that the weapons delivery will be completed without delays.