The company submitted the objection to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration over the bidding process for the detailed design and construction of the lead vessel under the Korean Destroyer Next Generation, or KDDX, program.
HD Hyundai Heavy is challenging a 1.2-point security penalty tied to a military security breach, which proved decisive in the close contest.
HD Hyundai Heavy scored 0.6425 points higher than Hanwha Ocean in technical capability but received a final score of 93.3675 after the penalty was applied.
Hanwha Ocean finished with 93.9542 points, beating its rival by 0.5867 points.
HD Hyundai Heavy had earlier sought an injunction to prevent the security penalty from being extended, but the court rejected the request. The company has since appealed.
The latest objection is expected to intensify the dispute surrounding the selection of the KDDX contractor.
DAPA plans to complete the remaining procedures and select a preferred bidder as early as July. It aims to sign a contract by late July or early August.
The KDDX program calls for the construction of six 6,000-ton destroyers using domestic technology at an estimated cost of 7.8 trillion won ($5.1 billion).
The program was originally scheduled to move into detailed design and construction in 2024 after the basic design was completed in December 2023.
But the project has been delayed by about two years as DAPA struggled to resolve the increasingly heated competition between the two shipbuilders.
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