Canada’s decision to award its landmark submarine contract to Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and President Lee Jae Myung’s subsequent appearance at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) summit in Ankara illuminate the same strategic challenge confronting South Korea’s defense industry.

Viewed together, they illustrate how South Korea’s approach to the broader Western and NATO defense markets is changing.

The announcements surrounding Lee’s NATO visit indicate that instead of concentrating primarily on individual export campaigns, Seoul is seeking deeper integration into the organization’s defense procurement system through procurement frameworks, innovation networks, standardization and joint production.

However, whether that