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Rendering of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Korean Next-Generation Destroyer (KDDX) (left) and Hanwha Ocean’s KDDX ship models. / Provided by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Seoul, September 16, 2025 — South Korea’s next-generation destroyer (KDDX) program, already delayed for nearly two years due to disputes between defense contractors, has been postponed once again.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced via text message on the 16th that it had decided not to present the KDDX project as an agenda item at the 130th Project Planning Subcommittee meeting scheduled for September 18. DAPA explained that further review is required to explore “cooperative measures between participating companies.”
Earlier in the day, DAPA had indicated plans to hold the subcommittee meeting on September 18 and a subsequent Defense Project Promotion Committee meeting on September 30 to finalize decisions on detailed design and construction of the lead ship. However, the agency abruptly reversed its stance in the afternoon, following requests from the Democratic Party to discuss cooperative arrangements between the companies involved at a party-government consultation.
The KDDX program, with a budget of KRW 7.8 trillion, aims to build six 6,000-ton domestically developed Aegis destroyers by 2030. Hanwha Ocean carried out the conceptual design, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries completed the basic design in December 2023.
HD Hyundai insists that, in line with industry practice, the company that performed the basic design should be awarded the detailed design through a non-competitive contract. Hanwha Ocean, however, argues that Hyundai’s past criminal conviction for military data theft warrants an open bidding process.
The disagreement has already delayed the project for more than 21 months. Initially, DAPA planned to launch the detailed design and lead ship construction phase last year. In an effort to break the deadlock, DAPA earlier this year proposed awarding Hyundai the detailed design contract while allowing Hanwha to participate in portions of the design process as part of a “cooperative framework.” Multiple working-level meetings were held at DAPA between the two firms.
Nevertheless, Hanwha Ocean has rejected the compromise, and some civilian members of the DAPA subcommittee reportedly criticized the plan as insufficient. As a result, the project remains stalled, and the schedule for party-government consultations on KDDX has not yet been determined.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
