Hanwha Philly Shipyard Names Hyuk Kim President as Navy Shipbuilding Push Grows
Hanwha Philly Shipyard has a new president. The shipyard said Hyuk Kim formally took office on November 2, succeeding David Kim. Kim is a shipbuilding veteran with more than 25 years at Hanwha Ocean and its predecessor, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, building commercial and specialized vessels.
Kim’s task is a transformation. The Philadelphia shipyard long built commercial vessels, but Hanwha is turning it into a dual-use yard that builds both commercial ships and United States Navy vessels. Hanwha acquired the yard in December 2024 and has since nearly doubled its workforce and invested in facilities and technology.
The ownership structure changed with it. The yard is moving to majority ownership by Hanwha Defense USA, and Kim reports directly to Tom Anderson, the Hanwha Defense USA shipbuilding president and a retired Navy rear admiral who oversees Hanwha’s American shipbuilding business.
David Kim was credited with leading the yard’s stabilization, organization and workforce expansion after the acquisition, the company said.
Just before the handover, the first Navy shipbuilding order arrived. Hanwha Defense USA said on October 29 that it had been selected to build one Medium Landing Ship for the Navy and Marine Corps, valued at $269 million, with options for three more vessels. The order came through TOTE Services, the Navy’s vessel construction manager, which picked Hanwha Defense USA as its first shipyard under a $2.2 billion program after a competitive bidding process. The Navy and Marine Corps plan a fleet of 35 Medium Landing Ships.
A Medium Landing Ship carries Marine Corps personnel, equipment and supplies to coastal and island locations. It measures about 100 meters in length, with a light displacement of about 2,687 tons and a range of roughly 7,400 kilometers. It is considered a core asset for the Marine Corps’ distributed operations across the Indo-Pacific. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027, with the first vessel due for delivery in 2030.
The Philadelphia yard has already built and delivered four National Security Multi-Mission Vessels with TOTE Services under the same model, and in July it was also selected to build a Missile Range Instrumentation Vessel for the Missile Defense Agency. The landing ship order is the first new Navy vessel construction contract Hanwha has won since acquiring the yard.
Kim will oversee facility expansion and operating efficiency. How fast the yard raises production capacity as it settles into building commercial and military vessels side by side is the question that will define his tenure.