S. Korea finally gets its Wheeled Infantry Fighting Vehicle

via Yonhap News.

South Korea has developed a wheeled armored combat vehicle that can greatly enhance the mobility and striking power of its infantry troops, the defense acquisition agency said Tuesday.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA)'s wheeled armored vehicle project, undertaken by defense maker Hyundai Rotem since 2012, has been successfully completed, DAPA said in a statement. It said the locally built vehicle passed its final qualification test on May 9.
The project was aimed at improving the mobility, survivability and hitting power of front line and rear echelon infantry troops as their mission areas have expanded the military's reorganization plan, the agency noted.
Two armored combat vehicles, the K808 and K806, were developed as part of the project. The K808 is designed for speedy troop deployment and reconnaissance missions in front line areas, including mountainous regions, while the K806 is intended for use in mobile strike and reconnaissance missions in the rear.
In the past, South Korean infantry units had relatively restricted areas of operations because they did not have a sufficient number of all-terrain armored vehicles. This shortage also exposed them to attack from the North when on the move, according to the statement.
"The new wheeled armored vehicles, equipped with cutting-edge technologies, can move swiftly on the ground as well as cross water obstacles, carry heavy firepower and protect the troops inside from enemy machine gun attacks that will enormously increase infantry units' operability," the statement also said.
The new vehicles could later be adapted to carry 30 millimeter anti-aircraft guns and be used as wheeled combat command centers, DAPA pointed out. The agency said the new armored vehicles may find an export market, since they enjoy a price advantage and are more capable vehicles overall than those currently on the market.
"The success of the project has allowed the military to field a new weapon system that could carry out various operations in city and rear areas and meet the challenges of future battlefields like United Nations peacekeeping missions," Park Jin, a DAPA official in charge of combat vehicles, said. "This will dramatically contribute to boosting our military's strength."

Interesting.  The S. Koreans have shown little interest in Wheeled Infantry Vehicles so I wonder what brought this on!  I'm betting that this is more toward gaining market share in what they see as the latest trend in armored vehicles more than something for their own forces.  We'll see what we'll see.

Pics below are from the Hyundai Rotem website.

As a bonus they're also building a weird looking 6x6 version.