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Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik has launched an active campaign to support South Korea’s bid for the next-generation submarine (CPSP) program—valued at about 60 trillion KRW (approximately 45 billion USD)—while seeking to expand cooperation with Canada in defense, space and energy.
Visiting Canada as President Lee Jae-myung’s special envoy for strategic economic cooperation, Kang posted on Facebook on June 1 (local time) that he attended the Korea-Canada Advanced Industry Cooperation Business Roundtable (BRT), visited local defense firms and held meetings with senior defense officials.
Reflecting on the Toronto BRT, Kang said, “If we combine Canada’s abundant resources and technology with South Korea’s advanced manufacturing capabilities, we can become a genuine model of the ‘middle-power solidarity’ Prime Minister Kani emphasizes.” He added that Seoul plans to continue expanding purchases of and investment in Canadian crude oil, LNG, LPG and critical minerals.
Kang also visited Martinrea, a principal party to the memorandum of understanding between Hanwha and the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA). He said the companies signed a cooperation MOU to combine Korean defense technologies with Canadian steel and auto parts to produce armored vehicles locally and jointly export them to global markets.
In a meeting with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Kang discussed ways to broaden cooperation on hydrogen vehicles and military vehicles. When Ford recalled visiting Korea with his family more than 40 years ago, Kang invited him to return, saying, “Please come back—South Korea has changed dramatically, four times over.”
Immediately after his meetings in Canada, Kang visited a Sewol ferry memorial bench on the Ontario lakeshore. He said, “Standing before the words ‘We will not forget,’ carved there by members of our expatriate community, reminded me that nothing is more important than protecting citizens’ lives and safety.”
Kang also recounted an anecdote from his meetings with Minister of Defense Procurement Steven Pure and Defense Minister David McGuinty.
When Kang’s flight from Toronto to Ottawa was delayed and he arrived at the meeting venue only just in time, Ministers Pure and McGuinty laughed it off, noting that “delays are normal in Canada.”
Kang replied with a wry joke: “Our submarine, anchored off Canada’s west coast, steamed 14,000 km under the Pacific and still arrived on time without a single delay. Next time, I should come by submarine.”
With South Korea actively competing for the CPSP contract, the remark also served to underscore the performance and reliability of Korean submarines.
During the meetings, Kang stressed that for the middle-power solidarity Prime Minister Kani advocates to have real meaning, Canada must engage proactively in the Indo‑Pacific. McGuinty agreed and urged that strategic discussions to realize that middle-power solidarity proceed with urgency, Kang said.
Kang emphasized, “I will do my best to help generate future growth engines for our economy and to build a stable energy supply structure that remains resilient amid shifts in the international environment.”
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