Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Kim Jung-Kwan (fourth from left) on July 23 takes part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick (fifth from left), Ambassador to the U.S. Kang Kyung-wha and American Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel at the opening ceremony of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. (Yonhap News)
By Jeong Euiseok
The Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center (KUSPC) has set sail in Washington as the forward base of the bilateral shipbuilding project MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again).
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources on July 23 jointly hosted the opening ceremony for the facility with Minister Kim Jung-Kwan and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. This comes two months after both countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a shipbuilding partnership in May.
As a non-profit organization in the U.S., the center will use retired Korean personnel and experts to improve production processes at shipyards in the U.S. and provide consulting. The project runs through 2028 with a budget of KRW 19.9 billion.
"The KUSPC is a collaborative platform demonstrating Korea's firm commitment to helping rebuild the U.S. shipbuilding industry," Minister Kim said. "It will serve as a hub to get Korea's superior shipbuilding technologies take root across the U.S. coastal belt."
The opening ceremony saw the conclusion of 15 MOUs in four areas: launch of "Team Korea"; supply chain cooperation; human resource training; and joint technological development.
Accordingly, domestic shipbuilders are reinforcing cooperation with U.S. partners across all sectors including equipment, design and production, and maintenance, repair and overhaul.
The ministry will also launch a five-year bilateral research initiative in the sector worth KRW 120 billion. The plan is to conduct eight projects including ship design optimization and autonomous navigation by combining Korea's shipbuilding prowess with cutting-edge U.S. artificial intelligence and robotics technologies.
Through the center, Seoul will maintain communication with Washington led by the new center to identify and discuss joint shipbuilding projects that benefit both sides.
