‘Park Wiham’ Completes 13 Earth Orbits Without Incident

Hanwha Ocean Constructs the 4th Jangbogo-class Submarine of 1995

The Jangbogo-class submarine Park Wi (1200t) has achieved '300,000 miles of accident-free safe navigation.' The 300,000 miles represent the sailing distance over 28 years from the unit's establishment on September 9, 1994, to May 7, 2023, approximately 555,600 km, which is equivalent to about 13 laps around the Earth.

On the 21st, the Navy Submarine Command held a commemorative ceremony for 'Park Wi's achievement of 300,000 miles of accident-free navigation' at the unit in Jinhae-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam, presided over by Colonel Kim Seung-kwon, commander of the 92nd Submarine Squadron.

Park Wi is the 4th Jangbogo-class (1200t) submarine built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (now Hanwha Ocean), launched on May 21, 1994, and commissioned on August 31, 1995. The submarine is named after General Park Wi, who repelled the Hong Geon-jeok and Japanese pirate invasions during the late Goryeo period. In 1389, General Park Wi led over 100 warships as the provincial commander of Gyeongsang Province to conquer Tsushima Island.

It was the first Korean Navy submarine to participate in the 'Keynote-IV' joint exercise conducted in the southern waters of the Philippines in 1997, and also took part in the multinational Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) in 2000 and 2018. Notably, during the 2000 RIMPAC, Park Wi demonstrated the Korean Navy's excellent operational capabilities by sinking 11 vessels in a simulated free-for-all battle.

Commander Park Gyu-tak (Lieutenant Colonel) of Park Wi stated, "Based on the safety motto 'If you dive 100 times, you will surface 100 times safely' and perfect readiness for decisive battle, we will firmly continue the submarine unit's mission to steadfastly defend the Republic of Korea's maritime sovereignty in the deep sea."

Admiral Lee Jong-ho, Chief of Naval Operations, said, "The reason Park Wi was able to set the milestone of 300,000 miles of safe navigation is the result of realistic training and thorough safety management," and encouraged, "I hope all unit members will continue to unite even more and safely carry out their given missions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.