Korea and Canada have discussed a deeper partnership in advanced industries, including space and defense, Seoul’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said Tuesday, as the country is making last-minute efforts to win Canada’s submarine project.
The Industry Ministry and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) jointly hosted a business roundtable in Toronto on Monday to promote cooperation between Korean and Canadian companies.
The event was attended by presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik, currently in Canada as Seoul’s envoy for special economic cooperation, along with Vice Industry Minister Moon Shin-hak, Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration Lee Yong-cheol and some 50 business leaders from the two countries, according to the ministry.
The visit by the high-ranking Korean officials to Canada is widely seen as a move to support Seoul’s bid to win Ottawa’s high-profile submarine procurement project.
Currently, Korea’s Hanwha Ocean-HD Hyundai Heavy Industries consortium is competing with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems for the estimated 60 trillion won ($40 billion) deal, with Canada expected to announce the preferred bidder in late June.
During the business roundtable, Hanwha proposed ways to deepen space and defense cooperation between Korea and Canada, while Hyundai Motor unveiled its vision for a hydrogen partnership between the two countries, the ministry said.
Korean and Canadian companies signed three memorandums of understanding for collaboration in space and defense sectors marking the event, it added.
“If Canada’s abundant resources and advanced technological capabilities are combined with Korea’s world-class manufacturing capacity, the two countries will be able to lead the global market in advanced industries,” Kang was quoted as saying.
© 2026, GDC. © GDC and www.globaldefensecorp.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.globaldefensecorp.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
