Case Analysis Explaining the Main Factors that Contribute to ROK's Decision Making in Procurement of Defense Articles; Master's thesis

摘要

The purpose of this research was to explore the various factors what contribute to ROK's decision making in procurement of defense articles. South Korea is one of the largest weapon purchasers and needs more self-reliant defense strength that can maintain its security with its own authority under the current cease-fire situation. Thus, this study focused on identifying the main factors that consider in deciding to purchase a major defense weapon system from foreign countries. Through the interview of experts who participated in each specific contract, thirteen specific factors were evaluated including (1) Interoperability (2) Offset valuation (3) Mission performance capability (4) Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) (5) Lifecycle (6) Timely deployment (7) Depot maintenance (8) National Security (9) U.S.-ROK Alliance (10) Northeast Asia Strategy (11) Defense Budget Levels (12) ROK Political Environments (13) Trends in Public Opinion for explaining what the essential elements are in the process of the ROK's decision making. The focus of this thesis is to identify the critical factors to support the research questions.