South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has launched Daeho Kim Jong-seo, the third and final KDX-III Batch II Aegis destroyer for the Republic of Korea Navy, at its Ulsan shipyard, according to a company statement.
The Jeongjo the Great-class warship has a light displacement of about 8,200 tonnes, measures 170 metres long and 21 metres wide, and has a maximum speed of 30 knots.
Daeho Kim Jong-seo is fitted with a domestically developed integrated sonar system and a ballistic-missile system. Unlike the navy’s earlier Sejong the Great-class Aegis destroyers, the new class can conduct ballistic-missile interception missions.
The vessel will undergo trials before delivery to the Republic of Korea Navy in December 2027. Its entry into service will give the navy six Aegis destroyers — three Sejong the Great-class KDX-III Batch I ships and three Jeongjo the Great-class KDX-III Batch II vessels.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries designed and built five of the six ships. It constructed the Batch I destroyers Sejong the Great and Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong and all three Batch II vessels — Jeongjo the Great, Dasan Jeong Yak-yong and Daeho Kim Jong-seo. The latest ship is named after General Kim Jong-seo, a military commander and official who led the expansion of Korea’s northern frontier during the early Joseon period. Daeho was his ho, or pen name.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung attended the 30 September launch ceremony alongside about 350 government, military and company representatives.
Founded in 1972, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is a South Korean shipbuilding and heavy-industry company active in commercial shipbuilding, offshore and energy projects, naval and medium-sized vessels, and engines and machinery. It recorded consolidated sales of KRW 22.6733tn ($16.69bn) and operating profit of KRW 2.5320tn ($1.86bn) for 2025.