The results of the competitive bidding for the detailed design and construction of the first batch (Ships 1–3) of South Korea’s Next-Generation Destroyer (KDDX) program have been announced, with Hanwha Ocean selected as the preferred bidder.
The project sparked fierce competition between South Korea’s two major shipbuilders—Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. Ultimately, Hanwha Ocean emerged as the preferred bidder by a narrow margin of 0.5867 points, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries was eliminated after having 1.2 points deducted from its safety score.
On June 11, the Evaluation Committee of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) reviewed the bids submitted by Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for the “KDDX Project Batch 1 (Ships 1–3) Detailed Design and Lead Ship Construction Project.” The committee ultimately selected Hanwha Ocean as the preferred bidder and notified both companies of the results that afternoon.
Following detailed consultations with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, Hanwha Ocean will formally take over the detailed design and construction of the lead ship for the first batch (Ships 1–3) of the KDDX project.
South Korean media reports indicate that the additional 1.2-point deduction in the safety evaluation by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries was a key factor in determining the final outcome of the “KDDX Project Phase 1 (Ships 1–3) Detailed Design and Lead Ship Construction Project.”
Previously, nine employees of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries were charged with violating South Korea’s Military Secrets Act for illegally obtaining and disseminating classified military materials, including conceptual design drawings for the KDDX project, which were obtained from the then-Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in 2013. Eight of them were convicted in a final appeal in 2022, and one was convicted in December 2023.
Initially, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) of South Korea treated the two rulings as a single case and proposed deducting 1.8 safety points from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. However, following an internal legal review, the agency determined that the two cases were separate and, based on the final date of conviction for the last individual, ruled to deduct an additional 1.2 safety points until December 2026.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries had filed a lawsuit challenging the additional 1.2-point safety deduction, arguing that the extension of the deduction lacked legal basis, but the court dismissed its claim on June 5. The South Korean shipbuilding industry believes that without this safety point deduction, the bidding results for the detailed design and construction of the first ship of the KDDX Project’s Ships 1–3 would have been entirely different. Industry insiders speculate that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries may take further legal action, including filing a substantive lawsuit regarding this review outcome.
Both shipbuilders have commented on the bid evaluation results. Hanwha Ocean stated, “Thanks to our shipbuilding technology and project execution capabilities, Hanwha Ocean received high scores during the proposal evaluation phase.” HD Hyundai Heavy Industries stated, “Although we were far ahead in the technical evaluation, we regret that we were not awarded the contract. We plan to request a bid evaluation briefing to verify the specific details and the basis for the evaluation.”
According to reports, the KDDX project is a national-level priority initiative in South Korea. With a total cost of approximately 7.8 trillion won (equivalent to about $5.159 billion at current exchange rates), the project aims to build and deploy six 6,000-ton-class destroyers by 2030. Every aspect of this class of destroyer—from the hull to the weapon systems—will be built using entirely domestically developed South Korean technology. Once completed, South Korea will become the sixth country in the world to achieve full domestic production of destroyers.
As planned, the first three destroyers to be built under the KDDX program are classified as the first-generation design, constituting the program’s first batch. The conceptual design for the first three destroyers was completed in 2012 by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the predecessor of Hanwha Ocean. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries completed the basic design by the end of 2023. As planned, following the completion of the basic design for KDDX Ships 1–3 by the end of 2023, detailed design and construction of the lead ship were scheduled to begin in 2024.