Logo of South Korean shipyard Hanwha Ocean (October 15, 2025, at the company’s office building in Seoul, South Korea).
Kim Hong-ji | Reuters
Shares in South Korean company Hanwha Ocean soared 10% on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump announced the company would help build a new frigate for the country’s navy.
Trump said at a news conference that the warship will be built in 2024 at the Hanwha Philly shipyard in Philadelphia, which was acquired by a South Korean company that pledged to invest $5 billion as part of South Korea’s $150 billion shipbuilding pledge.
The shipbuilding commitment is part of a broader U.S.-Korea trade deal that lowers tariffs on South Korean exports to 15% in exchange for $350 billion in investment commitments from South Korea.
Hanwha Ocean is one of South Korea’s leading shipbuilding companies, with expertise in building commercial ships such as LNG carriers, as well as military naval platforms such as submarines and surface ships.
South Korean defense stocks have performed well this year, with major defense companies such as Hanwha Aerospace and Hyundai Rotem up more than 170% and 270%, respectively, year-to-date. Hanwha Ocean has soared more than 220% so far this year.
Last week, the U.S. Navy announced the FF(X)-class ships, or small combat ships, that it said will complement larger, multi-mission warships and increase operational flexibility around the world. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan said the new frigate will be part of President Trump’s “Golden Fleet.”
President Trump said Monday that the U.S. Navy will build two new “Trump-class” battleships, potentially expanding the number to as many as 25.
The US president described these ships as “some of the most lethal surface combatants,” adding that they “help maintain America’s military superiority (and) inspire fear in America’s adversaries around the world.”
The US president described the Trump-class battleships as “the fastest, largest and 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built,” and is expected to carry hypersonic weapons, lasers, cruise missiles and nuclear weapons.
