The United States and Korea Sign MOU to Advance Bilateral Shipbuilding Cooperation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Commerce and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Initiative (KUSPI): a new platform to strengthen bilateral cooperation in commercial shipbuilding, workforce development, industrial modernization, and maritime manufacturing investment.

The KUSPI will leverage the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center, which is expected to be established later this year in Washington, D.C., and will support expanded collaboration between government, industry, and research institutions from both countries. Specific activities include facilitating foreign direct investment into the U.S. maritime industrial base, workforce training initiatives, shipyard productivity improvement projects, technical exchanges, and others as determined by the Department of Commerce and MOTIR.

Under the MOU, the Department of Commerce will help facilitate Center interactions with U.S. shipbuilding companies, suppliers, universities, and research institutes and act as the U.S. Government-wide point of contact for the Center. MOTIR will coordinate cooperation across the Republic of Korea government and other shipbuilding stakeholders and provide the personnel and funding necessary for the Center.

Overseen by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Republic of Korea Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Jung-kwan Kim, the MOU was signed today at the Department of Commerce by Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade William Kimmitt and MOTIR Deputy Minister for Trade Park Jung-sung. The MOU signing builds on ongoing U.S.-Korea cooperation in strategic industries and reflects continued efforts to strengthen allied industrial capacity, promote investment, and expand collaboration in advanced manufacturing sectors.