President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday said the government would help South Korea’s shipbuilding industry maintain its competitive edge and become a new growth engine for the national and regional economies.
Lee presided over the launch ceremony of the Daeho Kim Jong-seo in Ulsan. Built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the vessel is the sixth and final ship in the program to build six domestically developed Aegis destroyers.
The launch completes a 24-year effort that began in 2002, giving the Navy a six-ship Aegis fleet that forms a key part of the country’s self-reliant defense capabilities.
Lee touted South Korea’s shipbuilding capabilities, saying the industry had grown from humble beginnings to become a global leader capable of building everything from LNG carriers to Aegis destroyers.
“The government will not rest on these achievements, but will actively support the industry so that it can maintain its technological edge and advance to the next level,” Lee said in his congratulatory speech. “We will also turn shipbuilding into a new growth engine that drives not only the national economy but regional economies as well.”
Lee further underlined the importance of strengthening South Korea’s self-reliant defense capabilities across land, sea and air.
He pledged to “press ahead to the end toward realizing self-reliant national defense with the resolve embodied in Daeho Kim Jong Seo.”
The Daeho Kim Jong-seo is named after Kim Jong-seo, a 15th-century general who helped establish six frontier garrisons in Korea’s northern territories under King Sejong. “Daeho,” meaning “great tiger,” was Kim’s sobriquet and was added to the ship’s name to evoke his reputation as a military commander associated with strong national defense.
The 170-meter-long, 21-meter-wide Daeho Kim Jong Seo is equipped with a domestically developed integrated sonar system and enhanced ballistic missile defense capabilities, including the ability to intercept incoming missiles, a capability not available on the older Sejong the Great-class destroyers. It is expected to serve as a key sea-based component of South Korea’s three-axis defense system.
In his speech, Lee highlighted “security that relies on the strength of others is bound to be shaken when their circumstances or situation change.”
“Only when we are capable of defending ourselves can we determine our own future. Self-reliant national defense is sovereignty.”
Lee said the Navy would move to secure key capabilities for self-reliant defense, including nuclear-powered submarines and manned-unmanned fleet carriers.
To that end, Lee called the defense industry “a core national industry,” saying South Korea should strengthen its research and development capabilities while quickly bringing cutting-edge civilian technologies into the defense sector.
He also pledged to expand opportunities for the military, academia, and businesses to conduct joint research and investment, streamline procedures and increase support so that new technologies can be fielded more quickly.
Lee added that the government would support defense exports and international cooperation to help South Korean defense technologies expand into global markets and become a new source of economic growth.
Shipbuilding is the key area of cooperation between the allies under the Make American Shipbuilding Great Again, or MASGA, South Korean government initiative, which seeks to restore US maritime industrial capacity via South Korean investment worth $150 billion in US shipbuilding.
During their latest meeting, Lee and US President Donald Trump discussed ways to deepen shipbuilding cooperation, including warship construction in New York on Sept. 22.
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
