The Daewoo Precision Industries K5 or K5/DP51 series is a 9×19mm semi-automatic pistol produced by SNT Motiv (formerly S&T Daewoo) of South Korea.

The K5 was introduced in 1989. It is recoil operated and uses a conventional Browning-type locking system. It is mostly carried by commissioned officers in the South Korean military.

Design

thumb|left|A commercial DP51 version of the K5 9mm service pistol

The K5 is a compact, lightweight pistol with an unconventional trigger mechanism called "fast action". The frame is made of forged 7075-T6 aluminum alloy with a matte anodized finish, while the slide is constructed out of forged 4140 steel with a matte finish. The barrel is made of forged 4150 steel with a (6 grooves) right twist. In October of 2025, Lionheart Industries announced that they were going out of business and production of the Vulcan would cease at the end of the year.

At the SHOT Show in early 2025, a surprise announcement was made by SNT Defense, a subsidiary of SNT Motiv, that the company was preparing to resume importation of various sought-after Daewoo products, including the K2 rifle and DP51 pistol. The company has set up an assembly section in Las Vegas, Nevada so that parts can be imported from South Korea while manufacturing essential parts in the United States to maintain 922r compliance In July 2025, SNT Defense provided an update that they hope to sell the new production DP51s for an MSRP of $499.

Variants

thumb|A [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine is firing a K5 during a ROK-U.S. Marine Exchange Program in Gimpo, South Korea.]]

  • XK5: Experimental prototype.
  • K5: Standard mass-produced variant.
  • DP51: Commercial version of K5.
  • DP51S: Semi-compact version with compact slide and full-sized frame.
  • DP51C: Compact version of DP51.
  • : Purchased in 2011.

References

Bibliography

  • S&T Daewoo Homepage
  • US Distributor Lionhart Industries Homepage
  • Modern Firearms, World Guns, Daewoo DP-51 / K5 pistol (Republic of Korea / South Korea)
  • Proper lineage: a review of Lionheart’s LH9 Aaron Cowan April 30, 2014