Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Wednesday it has signed a 670.7 billion-won (US$517 million) deal with South Korea's state arm procurement agency to build a new 8,200-ton destroyer for the country's Navy, according to Yonhap.
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a KSOE affiliate, will construct the next-generation, Aegis-equipped destroyer at its shipyard in the southeastern port of Ulsan and deliver the vessel to the Navy in 2027.
The 170-meter-long, 21-meter-wide will be armed with a missile interception platform and stronger anti-submarine capabilities.
It will be the third warship built as part of Seoul's acquisition program, code-named Gwanggaeto-III Batch-II, under which the country has been pushing to procure three high-tech destroyers in an effort to bolster defense against North Korea's evolving military capabilities.
In 2008, Hyundai Heavy Industries built the first destroyer under the program, The 7,100-ton King Sejong the Great, named after the monarch of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) who invented the Korean alphabet Hangeul.
In July last year, the shipbuilder launched The Jeongjo the Great destroyer, named after a visionary king of the dynasty, the second warship built as part of the program.
KSOE has obtained $23.6 billion worth of orders to construct 194 ships so far this year, or 135.3 percent of its yearly target of $17.44 billion.
KSOE, the subholding company of shipbuilding, oil refining and machinery conglomerate HD Hyundai, has three major affiliates -- Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co.