South Korea's top 4 defense firms add 1,700-plus staff in a year to meet orders, develop new tech

Hanwha Aerospace's Arion-SMET multipurpose unmanned ground vehicle. [Hanwha Aerospace]

South Korea's four major defense companies — Hanwha Aerospace, Korea Aerospace Industries, LIG Defence & Aerospace and Hyundai Rotem — added more than 1,700 employees in a single year, as the firms race to fulfill trillion-won export contracts and accelerate development of high-value technologies such as unmanned systems.

Semiannual reports released Thursday show the four companies employed a combined 21,629 people as of June, up 1,753 from 19,876 in the same period last year.

Hanwha Aerospace recorded the largest headcount increase, adding 879 employees to reach 8,682 as of June, compared with 7,803 a year earlier. LIG Defence & Aerospace, known as LIG D&A, grew its workforce by 633 to 5,800, while Hyundai Rotem's defense division added 215 to reach 1,751. Korea Aerospace Industries, or KAI, posted a modest gain, rising to 5,396 from 5,370 in June last year.

The hiring push is driven primarily by the need to expand production capacity. The four companies have signed a string of trillion-won export deals with European and Middle Eastern buyers over the past three to four years. Hanwha Aerospace has concluded supply contracts with Poland and Norway for K9 self-propelled howitzers and Chunmoo multiple-launch rocket systems. Hyundai Rotem last year signed a second export contract with Poland for K2 main battle tanks worth about 9 trillion won ($6.42 billion). Delivering on contracts of that scale on schedule requires a substantial workforce.

A KAI employee tries out a T-50 advanced trainer simulator. [KAI]

The expansion also reflects a strategic push to speed up development of AI and unmanned technologies. Drone-based weapons have drawn growing attention on modern battlefields, and South Korea's defense companies are building up their R&D workforces to keep pace with the trend.

LIG D&A's R&D headcount stood at 3,399 as of the end of June, an increase of more than 300 from 3,028 in the same period last year. KAI employs 2,145 R&D staff, of whom 45.1 percent — 967 people — hold master's or doctoral degrees.

LIG D&A's unmanned surface vessel Haegum 3 maneuvers in waters off Yeongdo, Busan, near Korea Maritime and Ocean University in June. [LIG D&A]

The four companies plan to put their expanded talent pools to work in stepped-up R&D programs. Hanwha Aerospace is focused on advancing manned-unmanned teaming combat systems. In June, it conducted an integrated manned-unmanned combat system performance demonstration in Romania featuring a multipurpose unmanned ground vehicle — the first time a domestically developed military unmanned ground vehicle had demonstrated its capabilities on European soil.

KAI is developing AI-based manned-unmanned teaming systems, while LIG D&A is pushing hard to commercialize its unmanned surface vessels. The company's Haegum 3 became the first unmanned surface vessel in South Korea to complete an open-sea seakeeping test in Sea State 4 conditions, with wave heights of up to 2.5 meters. Hyundai Rotem, meanwhile, is developing unmanned robot technology based on physical AI.

Hyundai Rotem's K2 main battle tank on display at Eurosatory 2026. [Hyundai Rotem]

R&D spending is rising sharply across the board. Hanwha Aerospace invested 559.3 billion won in R&D in the first half of this year, up 59.3 percent from 351 billion won in the same period last year. If the pace holds, the company is on track to exceed 1 trillion won in annual R&D spending for the second consecutive year.

KAI's first-half R&D expenditure reached 294.2 billion won, already surpassing its full-year total of 164 billion won last year. LIG D&A spent 75.5 billion won on R&D in the first half, up 78.5 percent year on year, while Hyundai Rotem's R&D costs rose 14 percent to 125.4 billion won over the same period.

yeongdai@heraldcorp.com