United States President, Donald Trump, is pushing to “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again,” and South Korean shipyard leaders insist they have the expertise to help achieve that goal.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan and Hanwha Ocean in Geoje are already producing some of the world’s most advanced warships for the South Korean navy—on schedule and within budget.
Executives at both facilities are confident they can transfer the technology and knowledge required to build guided-missile destroyers, frigates, and submarines to a US Navy struggling to keep pace with China’s growing fleet.
The scale of the challenge has been made clear by top US officials.
“All of our programs are a mess,” US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan told a US House hearing in June.
“I think our best one is six months late and 57% over budget … That is the best one,” Phelan added.
While these remarks may surprise some, US shipbuilding’s chronic delays and budget overruns are no secret. Meanwhile, South Korea continues to advance rapidly.
During a recent CNN visit to Hyundai and Hanwha yards, officials detailed how South Korea has become a shipbuilding powerhouse capable of producing vessels efficiently.
At Hanwha, officials showcased newly constructed buildings specifically designed to handle an order of four frigates for the South Korean navy. The massive hall where hulls will be assembled was completed in just 14 months, one official said.
The 122-meter, 3,100-ton frigates will feature vertical launch cells for air-defense missiles, along with the capacity to deploy anti-ship missiles and anti-submarine torpedoes.
Each vessel will take around three years to complete, roughly the same time the US Constellation-class frigates have been delayed, according to a Congressional Research Report.
These delays are attributed to frequent alterations to a design originally used by the Italian and French navies.
Lee Jin, vice president at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, emphasized the value of experienced workers. “People – and their years of experience – come first,” he said, noting that the average employee in HHI’s 32,000-strong workforce has 16 years with the company.
US shipping expert Sal Mercogliano, a professor at Campbell University in North Carolina, highlighted a key advantage of Korean shipyards: their ability to alternate between military and commercial projects. This keeps a core workforce employed and skilled, he said.
Mercogliano noted, “We really gave up the shipbuilding industry foolishly, many years ago,” referencing the post-World War II period when the US outsourced commercial shipbuilding to countries like South Korea and Japan while focusing domestically on military vessels.
President Trump echoed that sentiment during his August summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the Oval Office, reaffirming the “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” initiative, first proposed by Seoul during tariff talks in July.
Mercogliano believes that reversing the flow of shipbuilding knowledge could be “a big game changer.”
Korean shipyards continue to innovate, refining their processes constantly, a Hanwha official told CNN. The co-location of commercial and military facilities allows for this, said former US Navy captain Carl Schuster.
In contrast, US military shipyards face inconsistent orders, making large-scale process investments risky.
“If you are a corporation, are you going to invest $100 million in automating a shipbuilding line, and then, when you finish, there’s no work?” Schuster asked.
South Korea’s compact geography also aids efficiency. Much of the heavy industry near the Geoje shipyard means about 90% of parts and materials can be sourced within 50 kilometers (31 miles), said Hanwha Ocean General Manager Jeon Yu-su.
The operational efficiency is striking. At Hyundai’s commercial section, a huge hull section moved along the street atop a unique flatbed, guided by bike-riding workers in yellow vests.
Trucks and scooters navigated in and out of assembly buildings, while enormous cranes capable of lifting 1,300 tons moved overhead, their tracks accompanied by the opening notes of Beethoven’s “Für Elise.”
Safety is paramount. One sign read: “There is not a single important task in our company that is worth you getting hurt over.”
CNN asked whether this model could be replicated in the US to revive American shipbuilding.
Hanwha is optimistic. Last year, it acquired Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania and announced plans to invest $5 billion there this year, aiming for commercial and eventually military projects. Hyundai also seeks a larger US footprint.
However, US law currently forbids the Navy from purchasing foreign-built ships—even from allies, or building them abroad, citing security and domestic protection concerns. Tensions from a recent immigration raid at a Korean battery plant in Georgia could also complicate collaboration.
Mercogliano suggested a path forward: Congress could loosen requirements for commercial or auxiliary naval vessels to be US-built. “I think there’s a great potential to start building ships in Korea and then morph it over to the United States,” he said.
Hanwha’s Jeon, however, has more ambitious plans. Asked whether he hopes to see US warships constructed at the Geoje shipyard, he responded without hesitation: “Yes!”
