[Exclusive] U.S. military inspection of Korean shipyards signals MASGA is near... "Pre-order check"

[Financial News] It has been confirmed that a senior official from the United States Department of the Navy visited South Korea in late August on a confidential trip and inspected major domestic shipyards. As U.S. President Donald Trump moves to allow overseas construction of warships, the 20 trillion won MASGA project, or Make American Shipbuilding Great Again, appears close to getting underway in earnest.
According to industry, government, and ruling party sources on the 1st, a delegation led by Richard Breckenridge, senior adviser for shipbuilding at the U.S. Department of the Navy, toured facilities operated by Hanwha Ocean, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and SK Oceanplant.
A ruling party official told this paper, "There have been several confidential U.S. Navy visits to South Korea before," adding, "This is about assessing the capabilities of Korean shipbuilders in order to place orders for warship construction or MRO, or maintenance, repair, and overhaul, under the MASGA project."
Breckenridge is known to report directly to the Secretary of the Navy and oversee practical matters such as streamlining U.S. Navy shipbuilding and procurement procedures and rebuilding shipbuilding infrastructure. The confidential inspection was reportedly organized by DAPA. With Trump announcing his intention to sign a memorandum on rebuilding the U.S. Navy and shipbuilding base, industry and ruling party sources view the visit as effectively a pre-order review.
The memorandum includes special provisions for foreign shipbuilders that invest in U.S. shipyards and create local jobs: the first two vessels must be built in their home country, while additional ships must be built locally. The targets include surface combatants for anti-submarine and surface warfare, tankers for cargo replenishment at sea, and cargo-loading vessels.
Korean shipbuilders are also in full preparation mode for the MASGA project.
After acquiring Hanwha Philly Shipyard and winning a contract to build the U.S. Navy's Maritime Reconnaissance and Inspection Vessel (MRIV), Hanwha is now seeking to acquire Austal USA, which builds small U.S. Navy surface ships and logistics support vessels. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has established a local subsidiary, HD Hyundai USA, and is pursuing the acquisition of a U.S. shipyard. Together with Samsung Heavy Industries, it is also developing unmanned surface vessel technology with U.S. defense firms Anduril Industries and Saronic Technologies. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HDKSOE) has agreed to jointly build digital solutions for ship design with U.S. engineering company Siemens AG. SK Oceanplant has signed the Maintenance and Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA), which qualifies it to participate in U.S. Navy vessel MRO projects.
The key tasks for the MASGA project to move onto the main track are the finalization of a Korea-U.S. agreement and support legislation reflecting it.
First, drafting the MASGA agreement faces obstacles, including uncertainty over approval and budget allocation in the U.S. Congress and resistance from the local shipbuilding industry. Progress in supply-chain cooperation and joint research and development at the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation Center, established by Korean shipbuilders and local companies, is expected to be the key to resolving the issue.
Only after the agreement is completed will the National Assembly be able to begin reviewing the MASGA support bill. Lawmakers Lee Un-ju and Heo Seong-mu of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea introduced bills in July last year and again in March this year, but the Ministry of Trade and Industry said during the review process that the bills would be effective only if they reflected a finalized agreement, leaving them unexamined.
In a review report by the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee, the ministry said, "After a treaty or agreement is concluded between the two countries, it would be appropriate to discuss whether to designate a special industrial complex and what support measures to provide based on the specific terms of the agreement." It added, "As discussions continue on establishing a Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation fund, legislation at this stage should be approached cautiously."
A Democratic Party lawmaker on the committee said, "A full review can begin only after the Korea-U.S. agreement is made more concrete," adding, "In that context, pending bills are also supposed to follow the treaty or agreement if its provisions differ from domestic law."
[email protected] Kim Yun-ho Reporter