Mr Park, you are an officer in the South Korean Navy and former submarine commander. You are familiar with the capabilities of KSS III submarine, which is produce by Hanwha Ocean in South Korea. And Hanwha is offering this submarine to the Polish Navy in program Orka, which is a Polish defense procurement initiative aimed at acquiring new conventionally powered submarines (diesel-electric, with air-independent propulsion – AIP) for the Polish Navy. Its goal is to replace the outdated Kobben-class and eventually the remaining Orzeł-class submarine, strengthening Poland’s maritime security, deterrence capabilities, and NATO commitments in the Baltic Sea region in Europe.

Please describe the KSS III submarine, its technical specifications, capabilities, equipment, and possible armament.

Sean Seongwoo Park: I served in South Korean Navy for more than 30 years and mostly spent whole of my time in the submarine warfare. Yes, Hanwha Ocean has proposed KSS III submarine for Polish Navy.

KSS III is very famous and the special capabilities in terms of three perspectives. First one is long endurance and second one is lethality and third one is cutting edge technologies. So in terms of the long endurance, the KSS III is equipped AIP system (air-independent propulsion, or air-independent power – is any marine propulsion technology that allows a non-nuclear submarine to operate without access to atmospheric oxygen – AIP can augment or replace the diesel-electric propulsion system vessels) and lithium-ion battery at the same time. So this is the only one in the world to hook who is equipped AIP system and lithium-ion batteries, also one both are made in Korea. So it can provide more than three weeks under water operation without any snorkeling and battery charging. So compared to other companies in other countries, it’s a very, very unique capability, especially the operations in Baltic Sea. It provides the better operation capabilities than other one.

The second thing is regarding weapons. Yes, I mentioned the lethality. KSS III is providing more than three kinds of weapons, including 10 ballistic missiles and torpedoes and cruise missiles, which is more than 1.000 kilometers long deep strike capabilities. And also it can carry the movable mines. So all of these are developed by Korean own.

And additional one is cutting edge technologies, which is related to the sensors and then propulsion motors. And also the KSS III has a is the design margin. Because once we developed and introduced some of them, we are to use somebody more than 30 or 40 years. And we are ready to prepare the future performance improvement that we need more spacious to area to develop the future technology.

In public discourse, the questions repeatedly arises whether the KSS III is a good choice for the Polish sailors. Isn’t it too large for the operations at the Baltic Sea?

Okay, my answer is no, not so large. So size comparison is from my perspective, it’s a relative. When we compared to KSS III and other submarines like the Midget or the other countries are slightly bigger. But in terms of the Foxtrot class, which the Polish Navy already operated tens years ago, it is exactly the same size. Once we compare our KSS III with US Navy or Chinese Navy, it’s very, very small. So I mean the size itself is not a matter of the operation. Rather than I want to measure this, the highly automated capabilities and then the cruise capabilities.

In those, in these two perspectives, the KSS III is the perfect one. So we can choose two options. First one is a little bigger, but fully automated and very well equipped. The additional one is smaller one, but less automated and less equipment. The best option should be slightly bigger, but more capabilities and highly automated one is much, much suitable for Polish Navy.

You can also watch the video interview with Sean Seongwoo Park on the YouTube channel:

A few weeks ago, the South Korean government and Hanwha Ocean presented a new offer for cooperation with Poland in the ORKA program. The KSS III submarine is one part of this offer, but the submarine is not everything. What are the key elements of Hanwha Ocean offer in the ORKA program and what distinguishes it from the competition?

Yes, before start, I want mention it the Hanwha Group, not only Hanwha Ocean, but Hanwha Aerospace and the Hanwha System, all of our sister company, are not just selling the weapons, equipment, to the Polish. We want to be a strategic partner for our future.

In this perspective, we approach two areas. The first one is military. The second one is commercial. I mean, beyond military.

So in terms of military, Hanwha Ocean is provided and scheduled to have a meeting with NAUTA and another PGZ shipyard, to provide a perfect 100% MRO in Poland. And also we are preparing joint venture with the PGZ Group to have not only submarine MRO, but also other MRO business, including US Navy and other European areas. This is one part.

The additional one is commercial areas. Yes, Poland has a long history and legend in shipbuilding. So Hanwha Ocean fully understands European legend and your pride of the shipbuilding. That’s why Hanwha Ocean wants to invest and collaborate in terms of the merchant vessels as well. And you have quite good shipbuilding companies in Poland, Gdańsk and also Szczecin as well. We are looking to be a good partner for our future.

So we have highlighted four areas. First one, mid-size. Second one is eco-friendly. And also the third one is an energy saving system. And you are(have) a lot of experience in the retrofit field. So Hanwha Ocean is ready to cooperate with them. And also we are planning to collaborate and cooperate not only in submarine but also surface ships and unmanned vehicles as well.

Why did Hanwha decide to propose a source of financing for the ORKA program, which is independent of European Union’s fund?

Yes, now the SAFE fund (Security Action for Europe is a new EU financial instrument to be financed by EU borrowing) is very familiar and lots of people discuss about using SAFE fund. However, the ORKA program is not applicable because of some limitations in using SAFE fund. That’s why the Hanwha Ocean and the Korean government is preparing and already provided additional financing programs. So Hanwha Ocean already provided a commercial area, commercial program. And the Korean government now, the Korean government and state-owned company is processing our LOI for the government financing process. So I believe sooner or later we will provide it to your government soon. And you can provide very, I am 100% sure in terms of the financing and good options for Polish. So you can choose whatever very suitable and better for the Polish Navy.

Do we know the details of this offer? What are the proposed amounts and interest rates of these loans?

I’m sorry about that. The rate depends on government and state-owned bank area. So I cannot describe it right now. But I believe the Korean government will provide very good, I mean the options for Polish. We understand the situation and also we understand our competitors options. So I believe Korean government will provide very good options for your navy and your defense ministry.

The offer presented by Hanwha Ocean to the Polish government concerns not only the ORKA program, but in general the potential cooperation in rebuilding and developing the Polish shipbuilding industry. What does this offer include?

In terms of the shipbuilding, so as I mentioned earlier, we respect fully your long history and the legacy of shipbuilding almost 100 years and pretty much other than the Korean shipbuilding history. We want to be a good partner for Polish, not only the navy but also your shipbuilding industry. We are seeking for good partners to expand our market to European areas and also our Latin and also the Asian areas. So we will provide and invest in your shipbuilding. So the first one is we are initiating $100 million by time development industry fund. This is not a loan. It is 100% dedicated by the Hanwha Group.

So from the Hanwha Group perspective, so far we have good business with Poland, not only K9 and Homar-K. So we truly understand and this $100 million investment fund is kind of a token of our sincerity. So using this maritime investment fund, we will invest in your shipbuilding and also developing local supply chain and also build up the skilled workforce as well. And some what we need to invest in the local areas. So all of this, the business are included in our packages.

What are the Hanwha Ocean’s long-term goals regarding the development of joint brand and the export of new vessels and new unmanned floating vessels, both military and civilian, I think, yes?

Yes, Hanwha Ocean is seeking for good partners with Polish, not only the military area but also the commercial area as well. And we know your shipbuilding capabilities and your long experiences. So in terms of the surface ships and the unmanned vehicle we are already collaborating with PGZ Shipyard. We made MOU with two shipbuilding companies and they are all aware of our capabilities and our will to cooperate with your companies. But the problem is the domestic market is not enough, especially for a unmanned vehicle. Yes, I understand, your Navy and your civilian sector is already concerning procure to some of the unmanned vehicles, but the market is not enough. So we need to explore, I mean, the further cooperation and further area for selling, I mean exporting.

This is our long-term goal. So we will collaborate and cooperate with the shipbuilding companies and your partner companies. So for example, we have lots of good companies in the Gdańsk and Gdynia area. It’s very well-known and lots of experience in unmanned vehicle. So we will invest and be ready to cooperate.

From our perspective, Poland is very close to Ukraine. You have a lot of experience from Ukraine in terms of unmanned vehicle operations and drones as well. In that point, it is good, good partnership between two companies, two countries. There have been operational experiences and we can have the technologies. If we combine together, I believe we can explore a new market.

Do you have any answer from the Ministry of Defense when they will decide what kind of submarines will be in ORKA program?

So far, there’s no official answer from the Defence Ministry. But I understand, so your Defence Ministry and the Defence Minister is closely reviewing each country’s proposals and I believe that they will decide very wisely the decision sooner or later. So I hope the Hanwha Ocean will be inside the decision.