Korea and the US Sign KUSPI to Rebuild American Shipyards

South Korea and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday, May 8, to advance bilateral shipbuilding cooperation, setting up a new platform called the Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Initiative (KUSPI). Park Jung-sung, deputy minister for trade at Seoul's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, and US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade William Kimmitt signed the MOU in Washington, overseen by Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

The deal sits inside a much larger commitment. South Korea has pledged to invest 150 billion US dollars in the US shipbuilding sector as part of last year's bilateral trade agreement, which committed Seoul to a total of 350 billion in the US with an annual cap of 20 billion.

The Details

Platform: Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Initiative (KUSPI)

Anchor: Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Center in Washington, expected later this year

Activities: foreign direct investment into the US maritime industrial base, workforce training, shipyard productivity projects, and technical exchanges

US lead: Commerce Department. Korean lead: MOTIR, providing personnel and funding

Sources: Yonhap News, The Korea Herald

Filling a gap China currently owns

The MOU lands against a backdrop where China is pulling further ahead in commercial shipbuilding. Chinese shipyards received 59.53 million deadweight tonnes in new orders in the first quarter of 2026, a 195.2 percent jump year on year, according to the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry. That gave China an 84.9 percent share of global new orders, with South Korea second at 12.8 percent and Japan third at 1.4 percent, per SCMP.

The political backdrop softened on the same day. After Seoul and Washington signed the MOU, President Donald Trump said at the White House, "I love South Korea." Yonhap noted the shift in tone, coming after Trump had earlier criticized Seoul for not supporting US naval operations linked to the conflict with Iran.

For Hanwha Ocean, HD Hyundai and Samsung Heavy, the partnership is the first formal structure inviting them to help rebuild a US civilian shipyard base. The next data point: the first concrete investment projects under the trade deal can be announced after a relevant law takes effect in June.

Sources: Yonhap News, The Korea Herald, SCMP