The Effects of Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement on Domestic Defense Industry

As the global defense market is booming, K-Defense Industry is also achieving the best performance. However, in order for K-Defense Industry to expand defense exports and secure sustainability, it is necessary to enter the world's largest U.S. defense market by signing a Reciprocal Defense Procurement-Agreement(hereafter RDP). The government is still in working-level negotiations with the aim of signing an RDP in 2024, but there are still concerns about encroaching on the defense market in Korea. To dispel them, it is necessary to examine the impact on the domestic defense market through case analysis of countries signed the RDP. This study analyzed the implications and effects of the provisions of the agreement of 28 countries that signed the RDP by comparing them by major items. As a result of this study, RDP is an agreement between the U.S. and its allies to promote security cooperation by establishing a framework for mutually beneficial defense cooperation, and it is not expected that the domestic defense market will not be eroded as there are safety measures such as terminating without disadvantage and setting an expiration date at any time. This was also confirmed by the analysis of the performance of defense imports and exports to major countries that signed the RDP. On the other hand, U.S. defense exports will not increase significantly due to the America First policy. Therefore, it is important to utilize the RDP as a tool or framework to develop the domestic defense industry by expanding defense cooperation with the U.S., wary of excessive expectations or concerns. If the RDP is signed to strengthen defense cooperation with the U.S., such as joint research and development, in the direction of satisfying each other's needs in accordance with the principle of mutual benefit, it can serve as an opportunity to compensate for the weaknesses of K-Defense Industry and expand its strengths. This study is meaningful bacause it examines the impact of the RDP based on the RDP agreement and/or mou of 28 countries before signing the RDP and analyzes the possibility of encroachment in the domestic defense market through an analysis of import and export performance for major countries.