After a court rejected HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' request for an injunction to block the extension of security deductions related to the bid for the detailed design and lead ship construction of the Korean next-generation destroyer (KDDX), the company filed an appeal.
According to the industry on the 12th, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries submitted a notice of appeal to the Seoul Central District Court the previous day against the decision to dismiss the injunction request.
Earlier, some employees of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries were convicted after illegally obtaining 12 Navy classified documents, including Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's KDDX concept design drawings from 2013, and sharing them through the company's internal network.
Security deductions were originally set to apply through Nov. last year, but the Defense Acquisition Program Administration extended them through Dec. this year, taking into account the timing of the final conviction. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries objected and filed for an injunction, but on the 5th the court dismissed the request.
As a result, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries was assessed a 1.2-point security deduction in the proposal evaluation for the KDDX detailed design and lead ship construction project that concluded the previous day. Consequently, Hanwha Ocean was effectively selected as the preferred negotiating partner with a total score roughly 0.6 points higher. The security deduction was the decisive factor in the loss.
If HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' appeal is accepted, it will become a major variable in the direction of the KDDX project.
The agency aims to select the preferred negotiating partner as early as early next month after follow-up procedures and to sign the contract at the end of next month or in early Aug.
In response to a question from reporters that day about whether follow-up schedules would proceed regardless of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' appeal, an official at the agency said, "The injunction request has already been dismissed, and we judge there is no legal issue," adding, "That does not mean the procedure will stop."
The official said, "If (the appeal in court) is accepted, it would be a matter that must be reassessed according to that situation, but for now it is hypothetical, so we will proceed according to the current results."