HD Hyundai Executive Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun met with Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp on Mar. 6 (local time) to discuss the “AI Shipyard Project.” The two executives were photographed exchanging gifts during their meeting.
In corporate diplomacy, gift exchanges between global executives are often meticulously planned weeks in advance, carrying symbolic messages that can leave a lasting impression.
Chung presented Karp with a model of Geobukseon Ship, or Turtle Ship, a historic warship emblematic of South Korea’s shipbuilding legacy and maritime strength. The gesture echoed a well-known episode involving the late Hyundai Group Founder and Honorary Chairman Chung Ju-yung, who famously leveraged the turtle ship’s symbolism to secure crucial financial backing for Hyundai’s early shipbuilding ambitions.
In the late 1960s, as Chung sought to establish a shipyard in Mipo, Ulsan, he faced formidable financial challenges. In 1971, he met Charles Longbottom, then chairman of British ship consultancy firm A&P Appledore, who held considerable sway over financial institutions. During their discussion, Chung pointed to a 500-won banknote featuring the turtle ship and said, “We are a people who built ironclad ships in the 1500s.” His words instilled confidence in Hyundai’s shipbuilding potential, ultimately securing a letter of recommendation that helped the company obtain a $43 million loan from British bank Barclays.
That shipyard later evolved into what is now HD Hyundai. Chung Ki-sun’s gift of a turtle ship model appears to carry a similar message, reinforcing HD Hyundai’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with Palantir, much like his grandfather’s bold outreach to British financiers decades earlier.
Karp, in turn, presented Chung with a copy of his book, The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West, which examines the impact of artificial intelligence and data on national security and global geopolitics. In the book, Karp highlights the expanding role of AI-driven military capabilities in defense strategies.
Palantir’s technology has already demonstrated its effectiveness in modern warfare. The company has played a key role in Ukraine’s defense efforts, providing data-driven tactical insights based on drone surveillance, enabling Ukrainian forces to strike Russian military facilities at long range.
HD Hyundai and Palantir have been collaborating since 2021 on the Future of Shipyard (FOS) project, an initiative aimed at developing an advanced, AI-powered shipyard integrating data analytics, augmented and virtual reality, robotics, automation, and AI-driven processes.
HD Hyundai expects the final phase of the FOS project—a fully autonomous, intelligent shipyard targeted for completion by 2030—to enhance production efficiency by 30% and reduce shipbuilding timelines by a similar margin, significantly bolstering the company’s capabilities. Since September, the two firms have also been working on the development of the Tenebris, an unmanned surface vessel (USV).
