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Shipbuilding talks with Trump
NEW YORK — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said he expects Washington and Seoul to produce tangible results from a growing shipbuilding partnership that could include the construction of U.S. warships.
Lee, who was in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, said he discussed shipbuilding cooperation during a summit with President Donald Trump the previous evening. Speaking at the Korea Investment Summit 2026 at a New York hotel, Lee said the talks covered naval ship construction and could lead to more concrete outcomes.
Lee said Hanwha’s planned investment in Philadelphia’s Philly Shipyard would support the construction of U.S. strategic vessels. He also said South Korea is participating in the development of the U.S. military’s next-generation firepower systems.
South Korean investment in the United States
Lee portrayed shipbuilding as part of a broader industrial relationship combining U.S. technology, capital and market access with South Korea’s manufacturing and supply capabilities.
He pointed to major U.S. investments by some of South Korea’s largest companies, including Samsung Electronics in Texas, SK Hynix in Indiana, Hyundai Motor in Georgia and Samsung Biologics in Maryland.
Lee called the two countries essential partners in industrial and economic security, arguing that an evolving U.S.-South Korea alliance could support shared prosperity and contribute to peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Pitching South Korea to global investors
Lee urged investors to participate in South Korea’s next phase of growth. He said the government is pursuing three major initiatives focused on semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence — AI systems that interact with the real world — and AI data centers, along with seven additional projects intended to develop future growth industries.
The government aims to expand semiconductor production hubs, double memory chip production capacity within five years and build an AI supply chain resilient to major disruptions.
Capital and currency market reforms
Lee also highlighted measures intended to make South Korea more attractive to international investors. He said three revisions to the country’s commercial law had strengthened directors’ duties to shareholders and established the cancellation of repurchased shares as a general principle.
South Korea also plans to move toward 24-hour foreign-exchange trading, allowing overseas investors to trade and settle transactions in the Korean won more easily during business hours in London and New York. Lee said the government would continue overhauling its capital and currency markets to deliver changes global investors could see and feel.
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