Korea: The government signed a letter of commitment to support the Canadian submarine project, supporting the project's success.

Press Release + Noah Note

On the 20th, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) held a signing ceremony for a letter of commitment containing the government's support and commitment to implementing industrial cooperation (Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB)) for Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' "One Team," which is pursuing the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP).

This signing ceremony was held to convey to the Canadian government the government's will to support companies in securing CPSP contracts and implementing ITB projects through intergovernmental collaboration, including the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the Ministry of National Defense, the Navy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment.

The letter of commitment includes a provision that the government will responsibly support industrial cooperation projects that are discovered by the Blue House and related ministries and reflected in the proposal to support CPSP contracts.

CPSP participation is evaluated based on performance, delivery, price, and the actual contribution to Canadian industry (ITB).

Accordingly, Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries formed a single team in February 2025, and the two companies have been working together to prepare a proposal since Canada's request for proposal was announced in November 2025.

In addition, related ministries, centered around the Blue House, proactively discovered and specified industrial cooperation tasks through collaboration and included them in the proposal.

Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Director Lee Yong-cheol emphasized, "The Canadian submarine project is not simply a proposal for submarine performance; it is an industrial cooperation package that comprehensively encompasses government-level trust and implementation capabilities." He added, "The government will systematically provide support so that companies can responsibly complete their proposals."

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Noah Note: Largely symbolic in itself, the move formally commits the various ministries of the Korean government to cooperate and aupport the implementation of the overall investment package laid out for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project.

It doesn't necessarily change anything, however it does provide a gesture of confidence that the Korean government is officially willing to support Team One Korea. That won't go unnoticed, and of course it is nice to see officials being proactive.

That's especially true for such a large-scale project thats looking at tens of billions of offsets on the table stretching across multiple industries. It requires government to be a proactive player.

Either way a nice thing to see.