[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] HD Hyundai Chung Ki-sun Senior Vice President visited the U.S. Naval Academy, the cradle of the world's strongest navy.

HD Hyundai announced on the 7th, local time, that its Senior Vice President Chung Ki-sun visited the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and met with school officials, including Superintendent Yvette M. Davids (Navy Vice Admiral) and Dean of Academic Affairs Samara Firebaugh.

Vice President Chung Ki-sun then visited the U.S. Naval Academy's ship structure lecture room and fluid dynamics lab, where he also exchanged opinions with professors and cadets on future development directions and research tasks in the maritime field.

In a conversation with the cadets that day, Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun said, “As a steadfast ally and trustworthy partner of the United States, the Republic of Korea will be the driving force behind innovation in the shipbuilding and maritime sectors.” He added, “The ROK-US alliance has been strengthened through sacrifice over the decades, and has become a global security axis beyond a simple military partnership,” and “As the challenges evolve, our cooperation must evolve as well.”

In particular, he emphasized, “HD Hyundai has secured the world’s best technology in the fields of autonomous navigation and digital advanced ships based on artificial intelligence (AI),” and “It has successfully built five world-class Aegis destroyers and delivered them to the Navy, supporting national security innovation.”

Former Chief of Naval Operations of the Republic of Korea Navy Jeong Ho-seop, who visited the Naval Academy with Senior Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun, expressed his thoughts, saying, “I hope that we can actively cooperate with the U.S. Navy based on our world-class shipbuilding technology to contribute to protecting world peace.”

Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun is a former officer in the Army Special Forces Regiment. He sent a special barbecue meal to Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) cadets undergoing winter training at the Naval Education and Training Command in Jinhae in January to encourage them. He also sent a coffee truck to the Army ROTC winter training center in January 2023, continuing his interest in and support for the military.

Meanwhile, HD Hyundai has been expanding its shipbuilding cooperation with the U.S. through joint research and education, and introducing internship programs, after signing an MOU for educational cooperation with the University of Michigan and Seoul National University in July of last year to foster talent in the shipbuilding industry.