Defense Acquisition Chief: "Discussing Ways with U.S. to Remove Barriers to Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation"

Meetings with Senior Officials from the U.S. Department of Defense and Navy During U.S. Visit
Shipbuilding Limited by Regulatory Barriers

Seok Jongkon, Commissioner of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, stated that he is discussing ways to ease U.S. regulatory barriers that hinder South Korea-U.S. cooperation in shipbuilding.

Yonhap News Agency

On the 17th (local time), during a forum co-hosted by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., Commissioner Seok said, "There are legal obstacles to the shipbuilding cooperation both countries desire," adding that he intends to discuss these issues with senior officials from the U.S. Department of Defense and the Navy during his visit to the United States.

Although U.S. President Donald Trump announced at the South Korea-U.S. summit last month that the United States would purchase ships from South Korea, various regulations currently exist in the United States, such as the Jones Act, which block foreign shipbuilders from entering the U.S. ship market.

Commissioner Seok stated, "It seems necessary for the United States to proactively and swiftly resolve such regulations," adding, "Although Hanwha and Hyundai Heavy Industries are making efforts to cooperate with the United States, the actual construction of naval vessels at the level desired by the United States is significantly limited."

This implies that since Korean shipbuilders cannot export ships built in Korea, they are pursuing local construction in the United States, including acquiring U.S. shipyards. However, it is difficult to supply ships at the scale and speed desired by the United States through local production alone.

Commissioner Seok said, "We have already proposed several options," explaining, "South Korea could prioritize supplying parts for various ships, or manufacture ships in block units and transport them to the United States for assembly."

He added, "Another method is to build ships to a minimum level suitable for navigation, excluding combat systems, and then send them to the United States, where sensitive and security-related components and combat systems would be installed."

Commissioner Seok emphasized, "We must coordinate with the United States to find ways to meet its requirements," and stressed, "For this to happen, high-level decisions within the U.S. administration will be needed to quickly resolve legal obstacles."

In his keynote speech, Commissioner Seok argued that South Korea and the United States must expand defense industry cooperation to respond to a variety of security threats. He said, "Today's international security environment is more uncertain and threatening than ever," diagnosing, "In the Indo-Pacific region, tensions are escalating in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea due to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, as well as China's military expansion."

He pointed out, "In this security environment, global demand for defense products is surging, and countries are steadily increasing their defense budgets as a share of gross domestic product (GDP), but defense industry supply capacity is unable to keep pace with this demand," adding, "This is where South Korea's role becomes prominent."

He cited areas for cooperation with the United States, including joint production, mutual complementarity of industrial bases, and the establishment of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) hubs.

Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said in his keynote speech that "competent international shipbuilders like those in South Korea must be part of the solution" if the U.S. Navy is to achieve its shipbuilding goals. Harris previously served as Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command.

Former Ambassador Harris emphasized that concluding a Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement (RDPA) is crucial for expanding South Korea-U.S. defense industry cooperation, explaining, "This sends a strong signal to our adversaries that this alliance is much greater than just the troops deployed on the ground."

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