'Canadian Submarine Contract Race' Kang Hoonshik Meets High-Level Officials, Requests "Objective Assessment of Excellence"

Full Support for Securing the Submarine Contract for a Second Consecutive Day

Meetings with Canadian Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, Minister of Industry, and Senators

Discussions on Cooperation in Crude Oil, LNG, and Critical Minerals
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Kang Hoonshik, Chief of Staff to President Lee Jaemyung and Special Envoy for Strategic Economic Cooperation, is currently visiting Canada, where he continues to engage with senior Canadian officials to support Korea’s bid for the 60 trillion won Canadian submarine project, emphasizing its potential to boost GDP and create jobs.

Kang Hoonshik, Chief of Staff to the President, is explaining in detail the industrial ripple effects that defense cooperation between the two countries will bring during a meeting with Melanie Joly, Minister of Industry, on the 2nd (local time). (Photo by Kang Hoonshik, Chief of Staff to the President)

On June 3, Kang posted on Facebook, "Reporting from day two in Ottawa, Canada," and stated that he met sequentially with Marc Blanchard, Chief of Staff to the Canadian Prime Minister, Melanie Joly, Minister of Industry, and Canadian senators, engaging in government-level activities to support the submarine bid.

In his meeting with Chief of Staff Blanchard, Kang explained the excellence of Korean submarines and the economic effects of industrial cooperation. He noted that this was the third meeting between the chiefs of staff, and both agreed that the fact that the two offices have been communicating closely is clear evidence of the rapidly strengthening relationship between the two countries. In particular, Kang discussed ways to expand the bilateral partnership, including energy cooperation and middle-power solidarity, and urged the Canadian side to conduct an "objective and fair evaluation" considering the performance of Korean submarines and the benefits of industrial cooperation.

Kang also sought support at the parliamentary level. He met with Marty Deacon, Chair of the Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs in the Canadian Senate, as well as three other senators, to present Korea’s vision for industrial cooperation linked to both energy/resource cooperation and the submarine project. Kang explained, "Team Korea can contribute to job creation and economic revitalization in Ontario, the heart of Canada’s manufacturing sector," and requested parliamentary interest and support for the submarine bid.

During his meeting with Minister Joly, Kang focused on highlighting the industrial ripple effects that defense cooperation would bring. Referring to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) among Hanwha, APMA, and Algoma, he emphasized, "It is equivalent to building an automobile plant in Canada." He went on to introduce the projected GDP effect of 96.3 billion Canadian dollars and the creation of 430,000 jobs between 2026 and 2044 that submarine cooperation could bring to the Canadian economy, and also explained Hyundai Motor’s hydrogen industry initiatives both domestically and internationally.

According to Kang, Minister Joly agreed that Korean companies are faithfully fulfilling their investment and employment commitments, and proposed expanding cooperation into semiconductors, life sciences, artificial intelligence (AI), space, and defense industries.

Alongside support for the submarine bid, energy and resource supply chain cooperation was also a key agenda during this visit. Kang’s first official engagement was a meeting with Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, where they agreed to strengthen cooperation on crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and critical minerals amid instability in the Middle East.

Kang stated, "Korea, which imports 70% of its crude oil from the Middle East, needs to diversify its import sources, while Canada, which exports 90% of its produced crude oil to the United States, seeks to diversify its export destinations. These needs are well aligned."

Kang Hoon-sik, Chief Secretary to the President, is speaking at the Korea-Canada Energy Resource Supply Chain Forum on the 2nd (local time). (Photo by Kang Hoon-sik, Chief Secretary to the President's Facebook)

The Korea-Canada Energy Resource Supply Chain Forum, held subsequently, was attended by over 150 government and corporate representatives from both countries. Kang assessed, "This forum went beyond abstract discussions and included concrete and actionable cooperation plans."

In the oil sector, plans to expand imports of Canadian crude oil were shared. Kang explained, "We discussed increasing Canadian crude oil imports to a maximum of 16 million barrels this year," which would more than triple the previous year’s volume. He also shared plans to further increase this to a maximum of 20 million barrels starting next year.

In the LNG sector, the expansion of Korea Gas Corporation’s participation in Canadian projects was discussed. Kang stated, "We discussed Korea Gas Corporation’s participation in the second phase of the LNG Canada project, building on the successful launch of the first phase last year." If the Ksi Lisims project is added to the LNG Canada Phase 2 initiative, Korea will be able to stably secure 3.4 million tons annually, totaling 64.1 billion Canadian dollars’ worth of LNG each year.

In the critical minerals sector, purchasing and investment plans for key minerals such as lithium, rare earth elements, and nickel were presented. Kang reported that Korean companies expressed plans to purchase 903 million Canadian dollars’ worth of lithium, rare earths, and nickel, and showed interest in investing 130 million Canadian dollars in graphite mines. The Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources and the Geological Survey of Canada also signed an MOU for joint research on natural hydrogen, a next-generation resource. Kang noted, "If companies establish import channels and production capacity abroad based on economic viability, the stability of securing critical minerals will be significantly strengthened."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.