Overview

• The Defense Acquisition Program Administration confirmed on July 2 that Seoul and Warsaw signed a second-phase contract for 180 K2 Black Panther tanks valued at roughly $6–6.7 billion.
• Hyundai Rotem will manufacture 117 tanks in South Korea while Poland’s PGZ will assemble 63 K2PL variants at a newly planned domestic facility.
• The deal marks President Lee Jae Myung’s first large-scale arms export and could become South Korea’s single-largest defense contract to date.
• Negotiations had stalled for nearly three years due to expanded scope requirements for a Poland-specific variant and local production alongside funding challenges.
• Officials say the pact aligns with the EU’s rearmament initiative and NATO’s defense spending goals, offering a model for future European cooperation.