HD Hyundai Heavy Industries launches Aegis destroyer Daeho Gimjongseo

To be delivered to Navy in December next year; capable of missile interception missions

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has built five of the Navy's six Aegis destroyers

President Lee pledges strong support for shipbuilding industry; HD Hyundai chief vows to defend economy and security

The Daeho Gimjongseo, the third vessel in the 8,200-ton next-generation Aegis destroyer class built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, is seen at its launch ceremony. [HD Hyundai Heavy Industries]

The next-generation Aegis destroyer Daeho Gimjongseo, set to complete the Navy's Aegis destroyer fleet, was launched Wednesday.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries held a launch ceremony for the vessel — the third ship in the 8,200-ton next-generation Aegis destroyer class — at its Ulsan shipyard Wednesday.

About 350 people attended the ceremony, including President Lee Jae Myung and his wife Kim Hye-kyung, Defense Minister Kang Shin-cheol, Chief of Naval Operations Kim Kyung-ryul, Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) chief Lee Yong-cheol, National Assembly Defense Committee Chairman Jin Seong-jun and other committee members, Ulsan-area Assembly members Kim Tae-seon and Yoon Jong-o, HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Vice Chairman Lee Sang-gyun, and President Joo Won-ho.

The vessel was named Daeho Gimjongseo after the pen name and given name of Gen. Kim Jong-seo, who led the northward expansion of territory in the early Joseon period. It will undergo sea trials before being delivered to the Navy in December next year.

President Lee Jae Myung delivers a congratulatory address at the launch ceremony for the Daeho Gimjongseo in Ulsan on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

The Daeho Gimjongseo measures 170 meters in length and 21 meters in width, with a light displacement of approximately 8,200 tons, and can reach a top speed of 30 knots (55 kilometers per hour).

The destroyer is equipped with a domestically developed advanced integrated sonar system and a ballistic missile defense system. Unlike the existing Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyers, it can also carry out missile interception missions, making it a core asset in the sea-based mobile three-axis defense system.

The launch is significant because it completes the Navy's Aegis destroyer force structure.

Once commissioned in December next year, the Navy will operate a total of six Aegis destroyers — three Sejong the Great-class vessels (KDX-III Batch-I) and three Jeongjo the Great-class vessels (KDX-III Batch-II).

President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hye-kyung applaud after a safe-voyage ceremony at the launch of the Daeho Gimjongseo in Ulsan on Wednesday. From right: DAPA chief Lee Yong-cheol, HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun, Kim Hye-kyung, President Lee, and Chief of Naval Operations Kim Kyung-ryul. [Yonhap]

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has built five of the six Aegis destroyers the Navy will operate.

The company designed and built the first and third ships of the Sejong the Great class — the Sejong the Great and the Seoae Yoo Seong-ryong — in 2008 and 2012, respectively.

Starting with the Jeongjo the Great, the first ship of the next-generation Jeongjo the Great class, in 2024, the company went on to design and build all three vessels in that class — including the Dasan Jeong Yak-yong and the Daeho Gimjongseo — demonstrating its advanced warship construction capabilities.

President Lee said South Korea's shipbuilding industry, which boasts the world's top technological prowess, is "a source of national pride and the driving force behind making South Korea a great maritime nation," adding that his government would "actively support the industry so it can maintain its overwhelming edge and rise to the next level."

HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun said the launch carries special meaning as this year marks the 50th anniversary of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' development of the Ulsan, South Korea's first domestically built combat vessel. "We will carry out our mission of building warships that protect the world's oceans with a sense of duty, and firmly safeguard the economy and security of the Republic of Korea," he said.

keg@heraldcorp.com