South Korea has brought its leading shipbuilders and state-backed finance institutions into a new alliance to push through a $150bn shipbuilding investment programme linked to industrial cooperation with the US, according to South Korea’s Financial Services Commission.
The memorandum of understanding was signed at 09:50 on Thursday at the headquarters of the Export-Import Bank of Korea in Yeouido, Seoul.
The signatories were the Korea-US Strategic Investment Corporation, Korea Eximbank, Korea Development Bank, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation and Korea Ocean Business Corporation, alongside HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean.
The agreement is intended to carry out the shipbuilding part of a wider Korea-US strategic investment framework signed on 14 November 2025. That framework includes $200bn for strategic US-bound investments and a separate $150bn shipbuilding cooperation package.
The new Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation investment consultative body will coordinate information sharing, identify business opportunities and arrange policy-finance support. Korea Eximbank will coordinate communication among participants and track project progress.
The financing push follows the creation of the Korea-US Strategic Investment Corporation on 18 June as the dedicated body for managing Seoul’s US investment commitments. Projects under the framework will be reviewed for commercial reasonableness and financial conditions, with US-bound investment capped at $20bn per year. The shipbuilding projects expected under the programme include acquisition, expansion and modernisation of US shipyards, as well as construction, maintenance, repair and overhaul work for US naval and commercial vessels.
The latest MOU follows the Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Initiative signed in May by the US Department of Commerce and South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, covering commercial shipbuilding, workforce development, industrial modernisation and maritime manufacturing investment.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is a shipbuilding company within HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding business, active in commercial and naval vessel construction.
Samsung Heavy Industries is a South Korean shipbuilder focused on high-value ships and offshore facilities.
Hanwha Ocean operates the Okpo shipyard on Geoje Island and builds commercial vessels and offshore plants.
