Grooming regional universities for K-defense

Hong Won-hwa

The author is president of Kyungpook National University and former chairman of the Korean Council for University Education.

Ukraine’s war against Russia, which will mark its second anniversary on Feb. 24, was initially expected to end with Russia’s sweeping victory. But the war is entering its third year as Ukraine stubbornly resists, supported by high-tech weapons assistance from the West.

The Bayraktar TB2 drone and Javelin, a one-man portable missile launcher, effectively hit Russian tanks and became a game changer. Elon Musk’s Starlink network is replacing the destroyed communication system. This is an example of “the new normal in security” in which advanced technology changes the development of war.

Under such circumstances, Korea’s defense industry continues to grow. The annual average export, which remained at $3 billion between 2010 and 2020, increased to $7.3 billion in 2021 and jumped to $17.3 billion in 2022. As a result, the government is making all efforts to support the defense industry. Korea currently ranks eighth, with a 2.8 percent share of the global defense market, but wants to become one of the top four defense exporters by 2027 by surpassing the 5% share in weapon exports.

Korean weapons are popular worldwide thanks to their excellent performance and price competitiveness, but the outlook is not so bright. After showing low operating rates for a while, European defense companies have been revitalized during the prolonged Ukraine war to possibly hurt the Korean defense industry. The structural vulnerability of that industry is also a problem.

According to the 2022 National Defense Industry Statistical Yearbook, the localization rate of defense materials is increasing, but it is still only at 76 percent. The rate in aviation and optics is 50 to 60 percent. The defense industry’s technology is 9th in the world but 11th on average in high-tech fields such as surveillance and reconnaissance — and 10th in aviation and space.

Competition among countries with advanced defense industries is getting fiercer. The United States is promoting research and development by pushing 14 key technologies in the defense sector, while China is expanding its investment in artificial intelligence by presenting the Science and Technology Innovation 2030 Project. Australia, the European Union, Japan and Israel are also converting their armed forces to digital militaries.

The Korean defense industry, in particular, is struggling to recruit. According to the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, the number of jobs in the defense sector remains around 33,000. It is expected to surge to 69,000 by 2027, which will only deepen the labor shortage. Defense industry insiders say that though export are booming, opportunities are not fully utilized.

Local universities are the answer to such technological challenges and manpower shortages. Many Korean universities with the best defense-related technologies are outside Seoul. Future weapons systems are evolving into unmanned systems thanks to AI, robotics and quantum communications. Yet some basic capabilities are very weak. Some local universities recognized this fact early on and are actively responding.

Regional universities must continue to secure differentiated technologies by expanding defense-related research and development. The government should establish regional hubs for basic technology research, including defense-related specialized research centers in areas where defense companies are concentrated. That will augment the synergy.

Small universities should be used to educate best defense talents. The defense industry requires a quality technical manpower. Universities have defense departments, but sometimes they are detached from the private sector’s demands. Specialized educational services will help attract talented people from regional universities with excellent technology to defense companies, rather than foreign information technology firms. If defense-focused departments are created in local universities to help the students work for the industry after graudation, it can also help the government’s Glocal University 30 funding project, not to mention contributing to more balanced development of the country.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.