Poongsan Corp

Poongsan Corporation is a specialized manufacturer of purpose-built military munitions, deriving a substantial portion of its revenue from defense contracts. The company produces a range of ammunition and large-caliber artillery shells—including 5.56mm rifle bullets, 155mm howitzer shells, anti-aircraft shells, mortar shells, tank shells, and naval artillery shells—which are core components of major weapons platforms. Its defense business is material and growing; in a single month in late 2022, Poongsan secured military contracts worth 574.8 billion won ($465 million), a sum exceeding its total defense sales for the preceding two-year period.

This surge is directly linked to the Russia-Ukraine war, with Poongsan supplying 155mm artillery shells for Hanwha Aerospace’s K9 self-propelled howitzers and 120mm tank shells for Hyundai Rotem’s K2 Black Panther tanks under a broader $15 billion defense export deal with Poland. The company’s products are integral to South Korea’s rapidly expanding defense exports, which reached a record $17 billion in 2022. Poongsan maintains no public commitment to exit or restrict its munitions manufacturing business, which remains a central and actively promoted operational pillar.