Minister Kim Jung-kwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources departed for Canada on the 5th to support Korea's bid for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), which is estimated at up to 60 trillion won.
Before departure, the Minister met reporters at Incheon Airport and said, "We are not presuming that things are going well or that they are difficult; we are doing our best to the extent possible." He added, "We will make every effort to clearly explain not only our submarine competitiveness but also Korea's package offerings, including industrial cooperation, and do our utmost."
Regarding the possibility, raised mainly by local media, of partitioning the order into six submarines each for Korea and Germany, a firm stance was expressed. The Minister said, "Of course we are working to win all 12," and added, "Twelve is a symbolic number for us. Admiral Yi Sun-sin said, 'I still have 12 ships,' and we will try to make that number 12."
However, the Minister added, "The scale of cooperation with 12 and with 6 will inevitably be different," while noting, "This depends entirely on what decision the Canadian government makes."
During this visit, the Minister plans to attend the completion ceremony for the LG Energy Solution battery plant in Windsor, Canada, and then meet with local government officials, including Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, to carry out bid-support activities. The two sides also plan to address industrial cooperation agendas under discussion, including in the automobile sector.
Earlier, in January, the Minister also visited Canada and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Korea-Canada future mobility industry cooperation, continuing bid-support efforts.
The CPSP is a major project to build up to 12 diesel submarines to replace the Victoria-class submarines (four vessels), which are slated to retire in the mid-2030s. A consortium of Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) have made the shortlist, and they are in the final stretch of competition ahead of the final announcement in June.