Seoul: Hanwha Ocean Co. announced that it has been chosen as the preferred bidder for South Korea's ambitious Navy destroyer project valued at 7.8 trillion won (US$5.1 billion). In a regulatory filing, the company reported that the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), a state-run agency, confirmed the selection on Wednesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Hanwha Ocean emerged victorious over its competitor, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., in the Korea Destroyer Next Generation (KDDX) program. This program aims to construct six next-generation destroyers utilizing domestically developed technologies. The proposed 6,000-ton-class Aegis destroyers are expected to become integral to the Navy's strategic arsenal, offering performance on par with the existing 7,100-ton King Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyers, which are currently the Navy's most powerful warships.
The announcement marks the end of a prolonged two-year delay in the KDDX project, which faced a contentious legal battle between the two rival companies. The conflict began after several HD Hyundai employees were convicted between 2022 and 2023 for stealing Hanwha's initial KDDX conceptual designs. This breach led DAPA to shift from a planned private contract with Hanwha to an open competitive bidding process, imposing a significant penalty on HD Hyundai.
HD Hyundai responded by filing multiple court injunctions to contest the penalty and to prevent DAPA from sharing its proprietary data with Hanwha. However, the courts dismissed these requests. Last month, DAPA informed both companies that Hanwha had narrowly secured its status as the preferred bidder by a margin of 0.59 point.
"We reviewed (HD Hyundai's) objection and concluded that there were no irregularities in the evaluation," a DAPA official stated. "We have notified each company of the final decision and plan to proceed with negotiations with the preferred bidder."
DAPA aims to finalize the contract with Hanwha by the end of next month, with the lead KDDX vessel slated for delivery to the Navy by the end of 2032. The agency plans to commence orders for the remaining five vessels from the end of 2028, with an intended delivery by 2036. Typically, the successful bidder for the lead vessel secures orders for the subsequent vessels.
"We will continue to work to promote the project in a fair and lawful manner in line with relevant laws and regulations and do our best to make sure that there will be no disruptions to the delivery schedule," the DAPA official added.