President Lee Jae Myung and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk agreed to upgrade the bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and bolster cooperation in the defense industry and energy supply chains during their summit talks Monday.
Lee said the two leaders agreed to elevate bilateral relations to pave the way for deeper cooperation across a broad range of sectors, expressing hope for further advancing "mutually beneficial" defense industry ties.
"I underscored the need for the steady implementation of the framework agreement already concluded between our two countries, which is essential for deepening and advancing our defense industry cooperation," Lee said at a joint press announcement at Cheong Wa Dae.
Defense collaboration has emerged as the cornerstone of bilateral relations, particularly since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, Poland signed a $44.2 billion framework agreement to purchase K2 tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, FA-50 light attack aircraft and Chunmoo multiple rocket launch systems.
In December, Poland signed a 5.6 trillion-won (US$4 billion) contract with South Korean defense firm Hanwha Aerospace Co. to acquire additional Chunmoo batteries, further solidifying its position as one of South Korea's largest defense customers.
