Overview
- Government and industry sources reported that Hanwha Ocean outscored HD Hyundai Heavy Industries by 0.5867 points in DAPA’s evaluation and is the reported preferred bidder for the KDDX detailed design and lead‑ship construction phase.
- DAPA applied a 1.2‑point security deduction to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries because nine current or former employees were convicted of illegally obtaining and leaking KDDX conceptual design documents, and observers say that penalty likely decided the narrow outcome.
- KDDX is a program to build six roughly 6,000‑ton, domestically developed destroyers with Korean sensors, combat systems and vertical launch systems, and the full program is valued at about 7.8 trillion won.
- Hanwha Ocean led the program’s earlier concept design phase while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries completed the basic design in December 2023, creating a split history of technical roles between the two firms.
- The selection is not final: DAPA must complete follow‑up review and any objection procedures before formally naming and contracting a winner, and industry sources say the lead‑ship award will shape final ship configuration and commercial advantage even if later hulls are split for production capacity.