On July 12, 2026, South Korea's Seoul Shinmun reported, "Did Mr. Zelensky approach Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for Patriot production cooperation, turning to Japan after being unable to obtain South Korean-made 'Cheongung-II'?"

The article, quoting reports from multiple Japanese media outlets, conveyed that "Ukrainian President Zelensky showed interest in cooperation with Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for Patriot missile production," "He highly praised Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' production capabilities and expressed a desire to share experiences," and "He also stated that Ukraine is ready to share the defense industry technology it has accumulated with Japan."

Furthermore, it points out that "this move surfaced after criticism emerged regarding the export issue surrounding the South Korean-made surface-to-air interception system 'Cheongung-II'."

In May of this year, Ukrainian military specialized media "Defense Express" claimed that while South Korea is expanding exports of "Cheongung-II" to Middle Eastern countries, it has not supplied it to Ukraine, citing the country being at war. It questioned South Korea's weapons aid policy, stating that "supply could be realized if the South Korean government makes a political decision."

However, it is not clear whether the South Korean government rejected a formal purchase request from Ukraine, or whether specific discussions took place between the two countries. The article emphasizes that "it has not been confirmed whether there is a direct causal relationship between the non-supply of 'Cheongung-II' and the cooperation proposal to Japan."

According to the article, both "Cheongung-II" and Patriot are air defense systems, but because their system configurations and operational methods differ, they cannot be considered simple substitutes. The view is emerging that Mr. Zelensky's cooperation proposal to Japan is not so much a substitute for "Cheongung-II" as it is a strategy to directly participate in the Patriot supply chain, based on the Patriot production license provision from the United States.

In response to this article, many negative comments about Ukraine have been posted by South Korean netizens, such as: "It's not like Ukraine was formally trying to acquire 'Cheongung'. A military media outlet just briefly mentioned it two months ago, yet they're writing so much about it," "They're asking for technology for free, aren't they...", "Will Japan accept that?", "We shouldn't intervene in the war between Russia and Ukraine. It's a loss whether they win or lose," "They should return all the support they've received so far," "Oh, really? They can partner with Japan and be betrayed. Ukraine can no longer be trusted," "There's no need to help Ukraine, which likes Japan and calls Dokdo 'Takeshima'," and "They sided with Russia during the Korean War, yet they're telling South Korea this and that."