Returns Thursday afternoon; met with Canadian prime minister's chief of staff and other officials

Kang Hoon-sik, presidential chief of staff and special envoy for strategic economic cooperation, poses for a photo before his meeting with Marc-André Blanchard, chief of staff to the Canadian prime minister, in Ottawa on June 2 (local time). [Captured from Kang Hoon-sik's social media]
Kang Hoon-sik, presidential chief of staff and special envoy for strategic economic cooperation, poses for a photo before his meeting with Marc-André Blanchard, chief of staff to the Canadian prime minister, in Ottawa on June 2 (local time). [Captured from Kang Hoon-sik's social media]

Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik returned home Thursday afternoon after visiting Canada as President Lee Jae-myung's special envoy for strategic economic cooperation, Cheong Wa Dae said.

Kang departed May 31 and spent roughly five days meeting with Canadian political and government figures to seek support for Hanwha Ocean's bid to win a Canadian submarine contract.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Kang said he had met with Marc-André Blanchard, chief of staff to the Canadian prime minister, and discussed expanding cooperation between the two countries in areas including energy and middle-power solidarity. He said he urged Canadian officials to conduct "an objective and fair evaluation" of Hanwha Ocean's submarines, taking into account their technical merits and the economic benefits that industrial cooperation would bring.

"Both Chief of Staff Blanchard and I agreed that the very fact that our two chiefs of staff have been in close communication is itself proof that the relationship between our two countries is rapidly deepening," Kang added.

Kang also visited the Canadian Senate, where he met with Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs Chair Marty Deacon and three other senators. He said he explained how the industrial cooperation package tied to the submarine bid — including proposals linking energy resource cooperation to the project — would benefit Canada economically, and asked for parliamentary attention and support for the contract award.

He also met with Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson to outline the industrial synergies that submarine cooperation would generate.

On June 2, Kang attended a Korea-Canada advanced industry cooperation business roundtable in Toronto before traveling to Ottawa, where he met with Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Steven Guilbeault and Defence Minister David McGuinty to seek their support for the submarine project.

Hanwha Ocean is competing against Germany's thyssenkrupp Marine Systems for a next-generation submarine contract worth up to 60 trillion won (approximately $39.6 billion). A decision on the contract is expected by the end of June.


moone@heraldcorp.com