On the 23rd, during the 173rd Defense Project Promotion Committee meeting, the South Korean government approved the basic plan for the construction of the first Korean next-generation destroyer (KDDX). This decision includes the selection of the contractor through a competitive bidding process. In December of last year, the committee had already determined that a competitive bidding method would be used for selecting the contractor responsible for the detailed design and construction of the destroyer.

An official from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) outlined the timeline for the project: an announcement for bids and a project briefing scheduled for March, evaluations of proposals to take place in May, with the aim of finalizing contracts in July, and the goal of delivering the first ship to the navy by 2032. The KDDX project is distinctive as it involves the construction of 6,000-ton "mini Aegis ships" entirely with domestic technology, utilizing a budget of around 7.439 trillion won.

Currently, the South Korean navy operates four Aegis ships that use a combat system developed by Lockheed Martin. The construction process for naval vessels typically follows stages from conceptual design to detailed design and shipbuilding. Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries have taken charge of the conceptual and basic design, respectively. Although the basic design was originally set to be completed by December 2023, the process was delayed due to intense competition between the two companies, pushing the schedule back by approximately two years.