Senior South Korean government officials, including Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Commissioner Lee Yong-cheol and Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Kim Kyung-ryul, attended Canada's largest defense exhibition to make a final push for a Canadian submarine project worth up to 60 trillion won.
According to DAPA on Friday, Commissioner Lee held talks with Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty at CANSEC, exchanging views on expanding bilateral defense industrial cooperation and addressing matters of interest to the Canadian side.
Lee also held a separate meeting with Stephen Fuhr, Secretary of State for Defence Procurement, in Ottawa on Monday local time. In an interview with Canada's public broadcaster CBC, he introduced cooperation plans being prepared in areas Canada prioritizes, including Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB), technology transfer, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), and supply chains.
Lee emphasized that Korea is "a reliable, long-term strategic partner" capable of contributing to the future strengthening of the Canadian Navy and the expansion of its industrial base, DAPA said.
Admiral Kim Kyung-ryul also attended CANSEC in Ottawa the same day, meeting various Canadian officials to discuss strengthening defense cooperation and supporting defense industrial collaboration.
Kim met successively with Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr, Chief of the Defence Staff Jennie Carignan, Deputy Minister of National Defence Christian Foix, and Royal Canadian Navy Commander Angus Topshee. He also held discussions with Jason Armstrong, Director General Future Ship Capability of the Royal Canadian Navy, who oversees the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP).
CANSEC is Canada's largest defense and security exhibition. With the selection of a preferred bidder for the Canadian submarine project scheduled for late next month, Lee and Kim are using CANSEC — where Canadian defense and military officials gather — as the venue for their final round of persuasion to secure the contract.
Separately, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back spoke by phone with the captain of the ROKS Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine, commending and encouraging the entire crew, the Defense Ministry said via X, formerly Twitter.
Ahn also called for the successful execution of the first-ever joint exercise involving submarines from both the Korean and Canadian navies.
Canada plans to make a final decision late next month on a project to acquire up to 12 new submarines to replace its aging fleet. A consortium of Hanwha Ocean (042660.KS) and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180.KS) is competing against Germany's Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as the finalists.
