SEOUL – South Korean Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik said on Monday he was heading to Canada with Hyundai Motor executives, alongside representatives of shipbuilders Hanwha and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, in a bid to win a major submarine contract.
South Korea is competing against Germany’s TKMS in a race to win the Canadian project for a new fleet of submarines, estimated by industry sources to be worth more than $12 billion.
Before departing for Canada together with Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, Mr. Kang said given the competition against a manufacturing superpower in Germany, “We believe the prospects are not necessarily easy.”
“I hope to … directly convey the excellent performance of our submarines as well as the government’s commitment to expanding industrial and security cooperation between our two countries,” Mr. Kang told reporters.
The submarine project would be one of the biggest defense procurement projects currently underway and would translate into overall economic benefit of more than 40 trillion won ($27.62 billion) and the creation of 20,000 jobs in South Korea, Mr. Kang said.
Last week, TKMS CEO Oliver Burkhard told Reuters the German company is in talks with Norwegian and German companies to offer a multi-billion-dollar investment package to Canada in a bid to win the tender.
Hanwha Group also said on Friday it aimed to create a large number of jobs in Canada by 2040 though cooperation across various sectors, including submarines.— Reuters
