Minister

ABOUT DAPA

Eom, Donghwan

Minister of Defense Acquisition Program Administration

Minister Eom, Donghwan, a retired Army Brigadier General, is the Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) of the Republic of Korea (ROK)

In this capacity, he is responsible for overseeing DAPA’s extensive portfolio of Force Improvement Programs (FIPs),
procurement of military supplies, and promotion of defense industry.

Minister Eom graduated from the Korea Military Academy (KMA) in 1988. He earned a Master’s Degree in Systems Engineering at the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology in 1998 and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering at Korea University in 2003.

Before his assignment to DAPA, Minister Eom served at the Force Development Management Group of the ROK Army Headquarters from 2003 to 2005.

After joining DAPA, Minister Eom was appointed as the Director of MBT (Main Battle Tank) Program Team in 2013 where he had oversight of major programs for acquiring main battle tanks for the ROK Army. He then became the Director of Acquisition Policy Division in 2016 where he oversaw policy and planning of Force Improvement Programs.

After being promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 2017, he was appointed as the Director General of Maneuver and Firepower Program Department. In this capacity, he was in charge of coordination and execution of acquisition programs for maneuver and firepower capabilities.

After his retirement from the military in 2019, he became the Head of the Defense Industry Technology Center of the Agency for Defense Development in 2020 where he led efforts to provide technical assistance to the government and defense industries for enhancing ROK’s ability to research and develop weapon systems. Minister Eom took office as the Minister of DAPA on June 23, 2022.

Minister Eom resides in Seoul with his wife, a daughter and a son.

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