The domestically built submarine Dosan Ahn Chang-ho (SS-III, 3,000-ton class) arrives at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in Victoria, Canada, on June 24 (local time) to participate in a joint South Korea-Canada naval exercise. [Yonhap]
The domestically built submarine Dosan Ahn Chang-ho (SS-III, 3,000-ton class) arrives at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in Victoria, Canada, on June 24 (local time) to participate in a joint South Korea-Canada naval exercise. [Yonhap]

The Canadian government on Monday (local time) selected Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as the preferred bidder for its Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), a program worth up to 60 trillion won ($39.2 billion) to replace the Royal Canadian Navy's aging Victoria-class submarines. South Korea had mounted a pan-government push for the contract, with Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy forming a unified team under the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, backed by a task force drawing on the Ministry of National Defense, the Navy, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — but ultimately failed to secure the deal.

The loss marks the second consecutive setback for South Korea's defense industry in the submarine export arena. Last year, a Korean proposal for Poland's Orka submarine program was widely assessed as superior in both capability and price, yet Sweden's Saab was ultimately chosen. Analysts point to strengthening NATO alliance cohesion in the wake of weakening US security commitments as a key factor behind the back-to-back defeats.

President Lee Jae-myung posted a message on Facebook that day titled "The bold challenge of K-defense continues," writing that South Korean submarines "have competed proudly against the world's leading submarine powers and demonstrated outstanding performance and technology." He added that while the result in Canada fell short of expectations, "I believe we have again made our underlying strength unmistakably clear to the international community."

Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik said the loss was deeply felt, noting that he had personally traveled to the site as a presidential envoy and worked alongside the defense "one team" until the very end. He nonetheless said Seoul would respect Ottawa's decision, which he described as one that "comprehensively weighed a range of factors including economic and industrial cooperation, security, and cost."

Hanwha Ocean, which competed against TKMS until the final moment, said it would "carefully analyze the challenges identified through this competition, develop concrete alternatives, and find a way to ensure that K-naval defense can make an even greater leap in the global market."


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