South Korean Defense Stocks Surge as U.S. Weighs Larger Iran Attack; Hanwha Aerospace Breaks 1M Won

South Korean defense stocks surged today on July 24 as U.S. defense contractors rallied overnight following heightened tensions with Iran, according to Hankyung. Hanwha Aerospace jumped 5.64% to 1.012 million won, while LIG NDefence and Aerospace rose 5.57% to 770,000 won and Hyundai Rotem gained 1.98%.

The rally followed substantial gains in U.S. defense stocks overnight: Lockheed Martin surged 10.54%, RTX climbed 7.33%, and Northrop Grumman rose 1.56%. President Trump told Axios he is considering a "massive" attack on Iran, stating it will be "bigger than anything we've done before" and that a decision is imminent. The U.S. has concurrently enhanced military deployment in the Middle East, including F-16 and F-35 fighter jets and special operations forces, according to Wall Street Journal reports.