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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has filed an appeal after a court rejected its injunction request to block the extended application of security-related penalty points in a bid for South Korea’s next-generation destroyer project (KDDX).
According to legal sources on June 12, the company submitted an immediate appeal to the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Agreement Division 50, following the court’s decision on June 5 to dismiss its request for an injunction.
The injunction had been filed in response to a decision by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) to extend the application period of security penalty points by one year.
The issue stems from a prior case in which eight employees of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries were convicted in November 2022 for illegally obtaining and sharing classified naval data, including conceptual design documents related to the KDDX project from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
DAPA had initially planned to apply the security penalty points until November last year, three years after the final conviction. However, after an additional employee—who had been acquitted in the first trial—was found guilty in a second trial in December 2023, the agency extended the penalty period through December this year.
The company argued that the extension lacked legal grounds and unfairly affected its participation in a recent naval project bid, including the basic design of an ocean surveillance vessel.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries was reportedly subject to a 1.2-point deduction in the final evaluation for the KDDX detailed design and lead ship construction project.
Despite leading its competitor by 0.6425 points in technical evaluation, the penalty points ultimately lowered its overall score, effectively giving rival Hanwha Ocean the opportunity to be selected as the preferred bidder.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
