The government will establish a workforce training program to revive U.S. shipbuilding. It is kicking off the "MASGA" (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again) project promised during the recent South Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations.
According to the government on the 21st, the budget plan for next year for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy includes funding for the "Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding and Marine Industry Technology Cooperation Center." The amount is 6.644 billion won, and it passed the Cabinet meeting on the 29th of 4th.
The Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding and Marine Industry Technology Cooperation Center is a local hub that supports Korea corporations' investment in and entry into the United States and systematically responds to local demand related to shipbuilding cooperation with the United States.
This budget allocation follows MASGA, which our government proposed to the United States during the South Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations concluded in Jul. The South Korean negotiating team presented a $350 billion (about 486 trillion won) investment package for the United States to reduce the announced 25% reciprocal tariff, of which $150 billion was the MASGA project. As a result, the United States said it would impose only a 15% reciprocal tariff on Korean products.
The government formed an interagency task force (TF) for South Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation as early as Jan., before South Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations began. This was to avoid tariff damage through shipbuilding industry cooperation after the second Trump administration warned it would raise tariff barriers against the world as soon as it took office.
Of the budget for the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding and Marine Industry Technology Cooperation Center, 3.45 billion won is allocated to operating the Masters Academy. The Masters Academy is a project to create and run technical training programs in the United States for shipbuilding-related skills such as welding.
The government plans to produce a graduating class of 100 next year through practical ship design training, yard production consulting, and dispatch of master-craftsman-level experts. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and other major domestic shipbuilders are expected to take the lead in operating the Masters Academy.
In addition, the remaining 2.14 billion won is allocated to operating the Korea-U.S. cooperation center, which will oversee the U.S. shipbuilding workforce training program, and 860 million won is allocated to related trend analysis and local networking.