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Doosan Enerbility and LIG Defense & Aerospace signed a memorandum of understanding on October 19, 2026 at Doosan Tower in Bundang to co-develop domestically produced engines for next-generation guided weapons, announced the following day. LIG D&A leads the missile system while Doosan develops the propulsion unit, with the two firms cooperating through testing, evaluation and certification, forming a joint research and development organization and a working-level council. They plan to review mass production and additional cooperation after the propulsion system is developed and to pursue joint marketing in the United States. The partnership aims to cut dependence on foreign engines that constrain exports of long-range precision strike systems. Signatories were Son Seung-woo, head of Doosan's Power Service business group, and Park Tae-sik, head of LIG D&A's missile systems division.
LIG Defense & Aerospace announced on October 19, 2026 a reorganization effective November 2 that replaces four of its seven business and management division heads, creates head-of-business and head-of-operations posts reporting to the CEO, establishes a Compliance and Audit Office to strengthen internal controls, and names a regional head for Europe and Latin America. The move came a day before the Defense Acquisition Program Administration's 20-member contract review committee met on October 20 to decide sanctions after prosecutors indicted two LIG D&A executives for allegedly providing about 460 million won in bribes to a DAPA evaluation official, alongside two cost-accounting violations. All 27 prior bribery cases since DAPA's founding ended in bid-participation bans, and the State Contracts Act prescribes a two-year ban for bribes of 200 million won or more, though a fine may substitute where competition would otherwise collapse; DAPA Minister Lee Yong-cheol told lawmakers he was weighing the impact on force deployment. At stake are LIG D&A's roughly 1 trillion won electronic warfare aircraft program and its KF-21 missile contracts. The committee's decision had not been published as of October 20.
Hyundai Rotem's board approved on October 19, 2026 the purchase of Hyundai Wia's Special Business Division for 358.386 billion won (about $269 million) through a business transfer covering assets, liabilities, employees and intellectual property. The division makes the 120 mm main gun for the K2 Black Panther, 155 mm barrels for the K9 Thunder, CIWS-II naval close-in weapon systems and remote weapon stations, making Hyundai Rotem the first Korean tank builder to control its own cannon production. The business was valued at 480 billion won, with 117 billion won of land and buildings excluded and leased instead; Rotem will retain all staff and build its own production line later. Hyundai Wia shareholders vote on November 27, dissenters may demand a buyback at 51,811 won per share until December 16, and Wia can withdraw if buyback claims approach 140 billion won. Closing is targeted by March 31, 2027. Hyundai Wia will redirect proceeds to thermal management and robotics, consolidating Hyundai Motor Group's weapons business under Rotem.
Hyundai Rotem reported preliminary third-quarter 2026 consolidated revenue of 1.6207 trillion won, up 0.1 percent year on year, and operating profit of 247.1 billion won, down 11.0 percent and below the 276 billion won consensus. Net profit fell 10.3 percent to 178 billion won. Defense and aerospace operating profit dropped 10.5 percent to 236 billion won while the rail division earned 5.9 billion won. Cumulative new orders through September were 3.8 trillion won, down 74.2 percent from a year earlier, and the order backlog slipped 2.1 percent from end-2025 to 29.14 trillion won as the Peru, Romania and Iraq K2 programs remain unsigned. Shares fell about 10 percent on October 19 as the results landed alongside the Hyundai Wia defense-unit acquisition.
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