Meets senior Polish officials, runs integrated Korea pavilion

Croatia signs $477m deal for 18 Chunmoo rocket launchers

Lee Yong-cheol (far left), head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, meets with Estonian Deputy Defense Minister Siim Sukles at the International Defense Industry Exhibition (MSPO 2026) in Poland on Wednesday (local time).
Lee Yong-cheol (far left), head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, meets with Estonian Deputy Defense Minister Siim Sukles at the International Defense Industry Exhibition (MSPO 2026) in Poland on Wednesday (local time).

Lee Yong-cheol, head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), secured major achievements during a European tour that took him from Poland to Croatia.

DAPA said Thursday that Lee visited Poland on Wednesday (local time) to attend the International Defense Industry Exhibition (MSPO 2026), Eastern Europe's largest defense industry exhibition. The event brought together defense companies, government officials and military officers from around the world. It gave Lee an opportunity to support South Korean defense firms' expansion into overseas markets and to explore ways to strengthen cooperation with Poland and other European countries.

Lee attended a forum titled "Korea-Poland Defense Cooperation: Opportunities and Challenges," organized by Polish defense industry outlet Defence24, where he introduced the achievements of bilateral defense cooperation and outlined future development plans. The forum brought together key figures representing Poland's defense sector, including a deputy minister from Poland's Ministry of State Assets and a deputy head of the country's Armaments Agency. They discussed the direction of cooperation.

Lee then held a series of meetings with senior defense procurement officials from major countries, including deputy defense ministers from Poland and Estonia. They discussed ways to diversify cooperation through joint research, joint production and follow-on logistics support.

DAPA also ran an integrated Korea pavilion at this year's MSPO to support the overseas expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises.

"Poland is an important strategic partner for our defense companies' expansion into the European market," Lee said. "Building on this MSPO, we will further develop defense cooperation with Poland and other major European countries, and actively support our small and medium-sized enterprises with excellent technological capabilities so they can enter the European and global defense markets."

Meanwhile, Lee traveled to Zagreb, Croatia, on Thursday (local time), where he secured another achievement. DAPA said that day that Hanwha Aerospace and Croatia's Ministry of Defense had signed a contract to export 18 Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers. The contract, based on order value, is worth 640 billion won ($477 million), or 410 million euros ($477 million).

The government has continuously highlighted the superiority and competitiveness of South Korean weapons systems to Croatia through official government events and high-level meetings on the sidelines of defense exhibitions. The contract is the result of these joint efforts by the government and industry. Observers say Korea's performance and price competitiveness, along with its rapid delivery and follow-on support capabilities, were comprehensively recognized.


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