President Lee Jae-myung on the 7th said about Hanwha Ocean not being selected as the preferred bidder for Canada's submarine program (CPSP), "I am confident that today's experience will become a valuable foundation that further advances our technology and raises our competitiveness another notch."
A day before the second "Defense Industry Day," Lee posted on Facebook on the morning of the same day an article titled "The bold challenge of K-defense continues," writing, "Challenges come with success but also with regrets. What matters is to keep moving forward without stopping."
Lee said, "Korea's defense industry is establishing itself as a new growth engine drawing global attention and as a core industry of national competitiveness," adding, "These achievements are the fruit of efforts built up by countless researchers, technicians, businesspeople, and our service members sweating together."
Regarding the decision to name Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as the preferred bidder in the $60 trillion won Canada submarine competition, he said, "Our submarines have competed confidently with the world's leading submarine powers, proving superior performance and technological prowess," and added, "Although we did not get the result we had hoped for in this Canada submarine project, I believe we once again clearly demonstrated our latent strength to the international community."
He went on to say, "Korea will continue to take bold challenges," adding, "From research and development and export support to strengthening international cooperation, the government will do everything it can until the day our submarines safeguard peace and security on the world's seas."
The government and Hanwha Ocean have waged an all-out effort to win the Canada submarine order. Hanwha Ocean, which made the final two competitors (shortlist) in the CPSP project, invited Prime Minister Mark Carney to Hanwha Ocean's business site in Geoje, South Gyeongsang, last November and even arranged for him to board the candidate model, the Jang Bogo-class submarine, in a bid to make their case.
In particular, at Cheong Wa Dae, Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik visited Canada several times as the "special presidential envoy for strategic economic cooperation," pledging top-priority delivery schedules and waging a diplomatic campaign. Chung Eui-sun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, who is not directly connected to this project, also joined the envoy's visit to Canada, lending support by proposing a plan to cooperate on building a hydrogen vehicle manufacturing plant.
However, Canada is said to have placed weight on interoperability and cohesion within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), selecting a German company from a NATO member state as the preferred bidder.