Let's talk about this weeks visit by DAPA Commissioner Seok Jeon-geun

Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Commissioner Seok Jong-geun was in Canada this week as part of more high-level discussions.

This isnt the Commissioners first time here, and certainly wont be the last. Anyways. It was an eventful trip!

The big thing during the trip, the Commissioner signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Canadian Centre for International Affairs (CGAI) to expand exchanges and cooperation in the defense and defense industry sectors.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration explained that through this MOU, it has strengthened Korea-Canada defense and defense industry cooperation and laid the foundation for exchanges and joint research on major policies.

In the future, regular conferences and seminars will be held to discuss and find solutions to various defense and defense industry cooperation issues that both countries commonly face.

Commissioner Seok emphasized, “Based on a comprehensive strategic partnership, Korea and Canada are seeking ways to cooperate in the defense industry beyond sharing defense technology,”

Commissioner Seok was also interviewed by the McDonald-Laurier Institute (MLI) on ways to strengthen the Korea-Canada strategic partnership and exchanges. He explained in detail the role of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration in expanding defense cooperation.

While in Canada, Commissioner Seok also met with several high-ranking officials in the DND and CAF, including Shervon Harty, Deputy Minister of Defense and Maritime Procurement as well as Commander of the Royal Navy Angus Topshee.

He presented several solutions that Korea can offer including the KSS-III Submarine, the K9 self-propelled howitzer (along with an ammunition package supply plan) and the T-50 jet trainer for Canada's next Lead-In Trainer requirements.

Notably missing here is Chunmoo. The rocket system has often been one of the cornerstones of Koreas offerings to us over the years yet has slowly been replaced by the T-50 in that role. This is a logical move given that HIMARS is practically a done deal by this point.

However the choice of our future jer trainer isnt fully in our hands. The current structure of the Fighter Lead-In Trainer project puts a lot of power in CAE, the project partner, to develop what they believe the best solution to be.

This is similar to what happened with FaCT. While we have ownership of the aircraft, CAE/SkyAlyne developed the training plan and in turn developed the fleet plan. We do have influence, obviously. It is a partnership after all but we aren't the sole voice here.

Overall though this is another example of relationship building that tend to get lost in the cracks. While we tend to focus on larger events and meetings, a lot of the ongoing relationship is developed at this kind of grounded level, slowly building trust with institutions and forming relations with partners over time.

This is a positive step. These kinds of quite visits happen all the time but help bridge the gap between larger state-state meetings. They also provide a great avenue for someone like me to keep track of things, and to see where partners like Korea are pivoting when it comes to their offerings.

More of these meetings are coming in the fall, including a proper industry roadshow. Its going to be exciting to see what comes out of that!