Chung Ki-sun makes first appearance as company chair at APEC forum, unveiling expanded US naval partnership
HD Hyundai Chair Chung Ki-sun highlighted the importance of innovation and closer alliance for the sustainable future of the shipbuilding industry, as the Korean shipbuilding conglomerate held the first official session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 2025 summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Monday.
“The rapid advancement of AI technology has had a tremendous impact on other key fronts of our innovation — the sustainability of our ships and the digital manufacturing cycle,” he said in his keynote speech at HD Hyundai’s Future Tech Forum at the Gyeongju Expo Grand Park Cultural Center’s Munmu Hall.
“For all these exciting possibilities to come true, we'll need much closer collaboration across industry boundaries — a truly global alliance of innovation.”
As key HD Hyundai US partners such as Anduril Industries, Huntington Ingalls Industries and the American Bureau of Shipping participated in the event, the recently promoted chief of the shipbuilding firm reiterated willingness to support the revival of the American shipbuilding sector.
“We welcome a new era of naval ambition, especially in the United States and her navy — one defines by next-generation fleets, revitalized shipyard and a renewed drive for maritime dominance and prosperity,” said Chung.
“We, HD Hyundai, have already built more than 100 naval ships and submarines for navies all around the world, from Korea, of course, to the Philippines, New Zealand, Peru, etc. So we are fully ready to be a facilitating partner in the American naval renaissance, working closely with leading innovators in this transformative endeavor."
Under the theme of "Shaping the Future of Shipbuilding," the forum included four sessions following the keynote speech: The New Era of Maritime Defense, Maritime Industries: Present & Future, Future of Shipyard: AI Driven Manufacturing Innovation and Strategic Collaboration Between the US and Korea in Shipbuilding.
John Kim, head of Anduril Korea, emphasized the importance of developing next-generation defense technologies capable of responding flexibly and swiftly in an era marked by complex unmanned threats such as drones and missiles. Kim Hyung-taek, HD Hyundai's naval AI adviser, presented HD Hyundai's strategy to lead the autonomous naval vessel market by incorporating the company's vessel autonomy and Anduril's mission autonomy. HD Hyundai and Anduril have been working together to develop an unmanned surface vehicle.
Eric Chewning, executive vice president of Huntington Ingalls Industries, announced plans to expand cooperation with HD Hyundai by conducting joint research and technology exchanges in AI and robotics and cooperating on life cycle support and maintenance systems for naval assets. HD Hyundai and Huntington Ingalls on the previous day unveiled their strategic partnership to build auxiliary ships for the US Navy’s next-generation fleet, signifying the first-of-a-kind collaboration between Korea and the US.
hwkan@heraldcorp.com
