South Korean President Lee Jae-myung attended a ship naming ceremony at Hanwha’s Philly Shipyard on Monday, underscoring growing cooperation between Seoul and Washington in shipbuilding.
The visit came a day after Lee’s summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. At the shipyard, Lee joined the christening of the State of Maine, a multi-purpose national security vessel ordered by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD).
Lee said Korea’s shipbuilding industry was ready to play a role in strengthening U.S. maritime security and reviving American shipbuilding under the “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” (MASGA) initiative.
“This project is not only about building advanced vessels,” Lee said in a speech. “It is about restoring a long-lost vision. Korea and the United States will create a win-win outcome together.”
Hanwha acquired Philly Shipyard in December 2023, the first purchase of a U.S. shipyard by a Korean company. Earlier this year, it secured a $300 million contract from MARAD to build five national security multi-purpose vessels. The State of Maine is the first of the series.
The vessels will serve as training ships for maritime academy cadets in peacetime and will be used for disaster response and relief missions in emergencies. Korean engineering firm DSEC contributed to design and equipment procurement, making the project a key example of U.S.-Korea industrial cooperation.
Lee called on U.S. officials to provide regulatory support for Korean investment and operations in the American market.
South Korean ministers and Hanwha executives, including Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, attended the event alongside Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon.
