Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik expressed regret Monday over Hanwha Ocean's failure to be selected as the preferred bidder for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), while stating that he was "convinced it will serve as a milestone opening the door to another opportunity."
In a Facebook post that day, Kang said, "As I personally oversaw the site as the president's special envoy and poured all our capabilities to the very end alongside our 'defense one team,' it is true that the disappointment is significant." He added, "We respect the choice of the Canadian government, which made its decision by comprehensively considering various factors, including economic and industrial cooperation, security, and cost."
Kang said, "This bidding competition was an occasion to reaffirm the current standing of Korea's defense industry." He stressed, "Local Canadian media and experts also evaluated the submarines proposed by Korea and Germany as so evenly matched in performance and cooperation conditions that it was difficult to easily determine which was superior." He continued, "The fact that the Canadian government made its decision later than initially planned, after deliberating until just before the NATO summit, also shows how difficult a choice it was."
Kang said, "Korea, which once learned submarine technology from Germany, now stands shoulder to shoulder with that originating country and is even being evaluated as equal or superior in terms of performance." He added, "I feel great pride in the remarkable growth of our defense technology."
However, Kang said, "This result also showed the reality that technological capability alone cannot explain everything." He continued, "It was indeed not easy to overcome in one stroke the thick wall of NATO, a powerful military and security alliance that has continued since 1949." Canada and Germany are NATO member states. Kang added, "I feel the historical weight of the tight security alliance and military interoperability forged over more than 70 years."
He said, "I will not leave this result merely as the consolation of 'we lost but fought well.'" He promised, "We will supplement our shortcomings and further build up our strengths to surely create a shining achievement in the next challenge."
He continued, "We will tie our shoelaces again and run. The hands of government and business, which we clasped firmly during this bidding period, will not loosen, and we will tirelessly run together toward a broader new market," expressing his gratitude to those involved.
Meanwhile, President Lee Jae-myung departed Monday through Seoul Air Base for Ankara, Turkey, where the NATO summit is being held. Before departure, Lee said via X (formerly Twitter), "Following the Group of Seven (G7) summit last month, this time I intend to expand Korea's role for world peace and security on the NATO stage." Citing the fact that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte recently described Korea's defense industry base as "fantastic," Lee stressed, "I am truly proud that the countless drops of sweat shed to defend the nation while overcoming the ruins of war have become a competitiveness recognized by the world today." Although the submarine bid failed this time, it is interpreted as a will to once again build a framework for European defense diplomacy.
