Caps bearing the logo of the Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation initiative, "Make America Shipbuilding Great Again," sit on a table at the opening ceremony of the Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Center at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, Thursday. (Yonhap) South Korea and the US opened a joint shipbuilding cooperation center in Washington on Thursday, officially kicking off a broad initiative aimed at revitalizing America’s shipbuilding industry through investment, technology sharing and workforce training.Senior government officials, lawmakers and business executives from both countries attended the opening ceremony for the Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Center, which will serve as a hub for the two countries’ joint initiative to rebuild the US shipbuilding sector, under the banner of “Make America Shipbuilding Great Again.”The center will oversee the rollout of South Korea’s $150 billion investment committed to the US shipbuilding sector, which was agreed upon as part of tariff negotiations in 2025. Its opening follows an agreement signed by the two countries in May to establish the center and represents a concrete step forward for the MASGA initiative.The center will help facilitate direct investment, technology exchanges, research and development and other joint projects with financial support from the South Korean government. South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan speaks at the opening ceremony of the Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Center at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, Thursday. (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources) “Korea strongly supports President (Donald) Trump's maritime action plan. We are ready to work side by side with the US,” said South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan in his opening address. “Today is the beginning of a new chapter — a new chapter for our shipbuilding industry, a new chapter for our maritime partnership and a new chapter for our alliance.”Kim stressed that Korea is ready to be America’s strongest partner and deliver results. “We will build naval vessels. We will build LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers and we will build them here in America,” he said.Kim added investment projects under the $150 billion shipbuilding package would move forward quickly, calling for active support from the US, including continued orders, incentives and regulatory relief for the investment’s success.In his remarks, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stressed that producing actual outcomes is what matters, noting that the true measure of success will be how many ships are actually built in the US."The center is not an outcome. It is the most important work that produces the outcome of how many ships that are built," he said."Talking is not a thing. It sets the stage, but the reality is (that) it is vital for America to produce ships in America. Not talk about producing ships in America, not having meetings about ships in America, but actually building ships in America." South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan (fourth from left), US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (fifth from left), South Korean Ambassador to the US Kang Kyung-wha (third from left) and US Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel (sixth from left) take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Center at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, Thursday. (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources) At the event, South Korean and US companies and institutions signed 15 memorandums of understanding covering four areas: the creation of a unified “Team Korea,” supply chain cooperation, workforce development and joint technology research.Under the Team Korea initiative, South Korea’s three largest shipbuilders — HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries — will work with the Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding Association, Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering and cooperation center to support the modernization of US shipyards and help build a broader industrial ecosystem that includes ship equipment and components.The two countries will also pursue joint research and development projects. South Korea’s Industry Ministry said it plans to invest 120 billion won ($82 million) in bilateral shipbuilding research over the next five years.South Korean shipbuilders also unveiled separate agreements with US partners.Hanwha Ocean signed a professional services contract with Leidos Gibbs & Cox, a US naval architecture company, to jointly design a strategic sealift vessel for the global market. It will also work with the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia to encourage regional manufacturers to join the shipbuilding supply chain.HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering signed an agreement with Siemens Industry Software to jointly develop and commercialize digital solutions for next-generation ship design and production.Samsung Heavy Industries received approval in principle from the American Bureau of Shipping for a 12,000-cubic-meter liquefied natural gas bunkering vessel jointly developed with the US-based Conrad Shipyard.Samsung Heavy Industries also agreed with American shipbuilder Vigor Marine Group to establish a joint workforce training center equipped with infrastructure to include a virtual reality welding education system.