Geoje shipyard operated by Hanwha Ocean (previously known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering) (Image courtesy of Hanwha Ocean)
SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government will create an interagency task force to support a shipbuilding partnership with the United States, a project officials say could open new markets for Korean shipyards while aiding the revival of America’s own maritime industry.
Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan announced the plan on Thursday during a naming ceremony for two liquefied natural gas carriers at Hanwha Ocean’s sprawling shipyard in Geoje, about 200 miles southeast of Seoul.
The vessels are the first of five slated for delivery to the United States under a $1.2 billion contract signed in 2022.
The initiative, called “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again,” or MASGA, was first proposed by Seoul during tariff negotiations with the Trump administration.
The presidential office unveiled the “MASGA” (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again) cap on August 3. “MASGA” is a slogan created by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy to succinctly convey the shipbuilding cooperation details in the recent U.S.-South Korea tariff negotiations. The South Korean negotiation team prepared this cap along with large panels for the occasion. (Yonhap)
In a trade deal reached late last month, South Korea pledged $150 billion for the shipbuilding program and an additional $200 billion for joint projects in strategic industries, including semiconductors, batteries and biotechnology.
“This is a win-win project,” Mr. Kim said, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. “It will help rebuild supply chains and develop a skilled workforce in the U.S., while creating opportunities for Korean companies to expand into new markets.”
Korea’s shipbuilders already dominate the high-value LNG carrier segment, having built more than 70 percent of the 760 such vessels in operation worldwide. In the first half of 2025, they secured every new LNG carrier order placed globally, the ministry said.
This photo, provided by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, shows Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan (L), Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo (C) and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during their meeting on trade issues in Washington on July 24, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
After the ceremony, Mr. Kim met with Hanwha Ocean officials and visited the U.S. Navy’s Charles Drew, which is undergoing maintenance and overhaul at the yard. It is the third American naval vessel to be serviced there, following the Wally Schirra and the Yukon, both under contracts awarded last year — the first of their kind for a Korean shipbuilder.
Mr. Kim described the naval repair work as “the starting point” for deeper cooperation between the two countries’ shipbuilding industries.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
