Hanwha Ocean Named Preferred Bidder for South Korea's KDDX Destroyer Program

Overview

• DAPA has notified Hanwha Ocean that it is the preferred bidder for the 7.8 trillion-won KDDX program to design and build six domestically developed 6,000-ton-class Aegis destroyers.
• The procurement decision follows a two-year legal fight over stolen design data in which several HD Hyundai employees were convicted and DAPA penalized HD Hyundai.
• DAPA reviewed HD Hyundai’s objections, said it found no irregularities in the evaluation, and recorded a narrow winning margin of 0.59 points for Hanwha.
• Officials expect to finalize the contract by the end of August 2026, with the lead ship due by the end of 2032 and follow-on orders placed from late 2028 for delivery completion by 2036.
• The award locks in a major role for South Korea’s domestic shipbuilding base, likely directs follow-on work and employment to Hanwha’s Geoje yard, and shapes the Navy’s surface combatant force for the next decade.