SEOUL– South Korea’s Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup on Friday reiterated the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s commitment to supporting the local defense industry, saying it will strive to clear “hurdles” to their business activities.
Lee made the remarks during a meeting with top officials of some 10 local defense companies in Seoul as the Yoon government is striving to develop the defense sector into a “national strategic industry.”
“If I may use a soccer analogy, you are the main players, and the defense ministry fetches you water and towels and plays a role to remove hurdles,” Lee said.
The minister also touched on his recent meetings with foreign officials at a multinational security forum in Singapore.
“Various countries’ evaluations of South Korean defense firms were very good,” he said.
Eugene Kim, head of the Korea Defense Industry Association, called on the government to maintain close consultations with local defense companies in its pursuit of a reciprocal defense procurement agreement with the U.S.
Source: Yonhap News Agency