[2025 Madex] Jung Kiseon of HD Hyundai and Kim Donggwan of Hanwha to Face Off Over KDDX

Top Shipbuilding Leaders to Attend Madex, Showcasing Technological Prowess
Promoting Design and Construction Capabilities Ahead of KDDX Project Decision

Jung Kiseon, Senior Vice Chairman of HD Hyundai, and Kim Donggwan, Vice Chairman of Hanwha, are expected to attend the international maritime defense exhibition MADEX (Madex) 2025. As the event will be attended by military officials from around the world, it is interpreted that the top executives themselves are participating not only to strengthen Korea-US defense industry cooperation, but also to enhance their networks.

Kim Donggwan, Vice Chairman of Hanwha Group (third from left), held a business meeting with Faisal Al Bannai, CEO of EDGE Group (fourth from left), at the defense industry exhibition IDEX 2025 held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the 17th.

HD Hyundai Vice Chairman Jung Kiseon met with Jamieson Greer, the United States Trade Representative (USTR), on Friday the 16th to discuss cooperation plans for the shipbuilding industry between Korea and the United States.

According to the defense industry on the 23rd, this year's Madex event will feature about 200 domestic and international defense companies from 14 countries, setting up 700 booths, and welcoming over 100 foreign delegations from 30 countries. Celebrating its 14th edition this year, Madex is the largest maritime defense industry exhibition in Korea, held biennially since 1999 by the Navy, Marine Corps, and Korea International Trade Association.

Jung Kiseon, Senior Vice Chairman of HD Hyundai, did not attend the 2023 Madex event. The participation of these two leaders, who are considered the two pillars of the shipbuilding and defense industry, at this event?which will be the largest ever?suggests an intention to strengthen networking with officials from the United States and other countries and to gain an early foothold in the market.

In particular, fierce competition is expected over the Korean next-generation destroyer (KDDX) project. The KDDX project is a large-scale national initiative to secure six 6,000-ton Aegis destroyers by 2030, with a total investment of 7.8 trillion won. In February, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy designated both HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean as defense industry contractors. During this process, the two companies engaged in legal disputes and accusations. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean are also competing in areas such as submarines and unmanned surface vessels.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will display the KDDX, as well as other surface ships and submarines currently operated by the Navy, in its domestic exhibition hall, and will unveil export models such as offshore patrol vessels in its overseas exhibition hall. This year, Hanwha will operate the largest booth by integrating its three defense affiliates?Hanwha Ocean, Hanwha Systems, and Hanwha Aerospace?into a unified exhibition space.

Some experts point out that, in order to boost warship exports, the KDDX should be designed to reflect operational environments. Recently, the US Congress introduced a bill that would allow US Navy warships to be built overseas, following previous legislation on maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO). This move, which was emphasized during the Donald Trump administration as part of Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation, aims to permit allied countries like Korea to build US Navy warships.

If this bill passes, shipyards in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries or Indo-Pacific countries with mutual defense treaties with the US will be able to build US Navy warships. The US Navy needs 355 ships to maintain readiness, but currently operates only 291. While the US could increase its fleet by building more ships domestically or upgrading old vessels, these options are too costly and time-consuming. Therefore, it is argued that the US should create options to have all or part of the shipbuilding process carried out at trusted allied shipyards.