HD Hyundai launches Korea's third next-generation Aegis destroyer
The 8,200-ton Daeho Kim Jong-seo will undergo sea trials before its planned Navy delivery in December next year.
President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hea Kyung, center, and other government and corporate officials including HD Hyundai Chair Chung Ki-sun pose for a photo to celebrate the launch of Daeho Kim Jong-seo at HD Hyundai's Ulsan shipyard on Sept. 30.
JOINT PRESS CORPS
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries launched the Daeho Kim Jong-seo, the third of the Navy's next-generation Aegis destroyers, at its Ulsan shipyard on Wednesday.
The 8,200-ton vessel is 170 meters (558 feet) long and 21 meters wide, with a top speed of 30 knots, or about 55 kilometers (34 miles) per hour. It carries domestically developed integrated sonar and ballistic missile systems. Unlike the earlier Sejong the Great-class destroyers, it can also carry out interception missions. The Navy regards it as a core asset of its sea-based mobile three-axis system — the maritime component of Korea’s national defense strategy that includes pre-emptive strikes, air and missile defense and mass retaliatory capabilities.
The ship is named after Kim Jong-seo, an early Joseon general who led Korea’s expansion into the northern frontier of the peninsula. Daeho was his pen name. It will undergo sea trials and is due to be delivered to the Navy in December next year.
About 350 government, military and company officials attended the ceremony, including President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hea Kyung. Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul, Navy Chief of Staff Kim Kyung-ryul, Defense Acquisition Program Administration Commissioner Lee Yong-chul and National Assembly National Defense Committee Chair Jin Sung-joon were also present. HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun, HD Hyundai Heavy Vice Chairman Lee Sang-kyun and President Joo Won-ho represented the company.
Once the ship is delivered, the Navy will operate six Aegis destroyers: three Sejong the Great-class vessels and three King Jeongjo the Great-class vessels. HD Hyundai Heavy built five of them, including all three of the newer class.
"Our shipbuilding industry, which boasts the world's top technology, is a source of pride and the driving force that made Korea a maritime power," Lee said. "We will actively support it so that it can maintain an unrivaled edge and rise to the next level."
Chung said the ceremony carried added meaning because this year marks 50 years since the company set out to develop Korea's first domestically built warship.
"We will firmly defend the nation's economy and security with a sense of mission, building the ships that guard the world's seas," he said.
BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]
