The political economy of defense procurement and acquisition: The case of South Korean ministry of defense

South Korea faces growing problems in the area of productivity and competitiveness throughout its economy. These problems are also present in the economies of the armed forces. The purpose of this paper is to present methods of improving the productivity of the South Korean Ministry of Defense's acquisition and procurement processes. It also attempts to mention the South Korean defense environment including defense industry after the Second World War, to point out the problems of Korean Fighter Program (KFP) as a case study, to explain concepts and principles of Total Quality Management, which is a management philosophy and methods, and to provide with the possible solutions of its defense acquisition and procurement represented as KFP.