South Korea’s Chungnam-Class Frigate Eyes U.S. Market After Losing Out to Japan’s Mogami in Australia

South Korea’s Chungnam-class frigate could get another chance against Japan’s Mogami class, this time in the U.S. market. Reports that Washington is considering the Korean design for a new Navy frigate have put the country’s shipbuilding industry on alert.

The opportunity is significant because the U.S. warship market, estimated in the article at 1,500 trillion won, has so far been largely limited for South Korean companies to maintenance, repair and overhaul work. A move into new construction would open a much larger field.

The potential U.S. competition also revives a contest from Australia’s new-frigate procurement program, where Korean companies faced Japan’s Mogami class and failed to secure the contract. The prospect of a return match has intensified interest in whether K-shipbuilding can enter the world’s largest defense market while settling that earlier score.

Foreign reports cited by the article said the White House is reviewing frigate designs from South Korea, Japan and Türkiye. The candidates are South Korea’s Chungnam class, Japan’s Mogami class and Türkiye’s Istanbul class. The Trump administration has repeatedly shown interest in building warships overseas. At the G7 summit in June, U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly told South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, “Build 10 warships quickly,” while expressing interest in the Chungnam-class frigate.

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Build 10 warships quickly