Dec 10, 2025 – A Canadian submariner boards the ROKS Ahn Mu during a six‑day Silent Shark drill near Guam, marking the first foreign crew on a 3,000‑ton Korean submarine and underscoring Seoul’s bid for Canada’s Patrol Submarine Project, which has shortlisted Hanwha Ocean and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems [12].

Oct 2025 – President Lee Jae Myung and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney negotiate a military intelligence‑sharing pact on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Gyeongju, laying legal groundwork for deeper security and defence‑industry cooperation that will later support the submarine bid [7].

Jan 21, 2026 – Canada’s Richard Arbeiter tells South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Eui‑hae that Ottawa has “strong confidence” in Korean defence firms for its next‑generation submarine programme and proposes a “two plus two” foreign‑minister/defence‑minister dialogue to cement ties [11]; the same day Hanwha Ocean appoints former Royal Canadian Navy officer Glenn Copeland as CEO of Hanwha Defence Canada to lead the Ottawa bid, highlighting his 22‑year RCN background and Lockheed Martin experience [10].

Jan 26, 2026 – Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon‑sik flies to Toronto to lobby for the Korean consortium, stating that “bidders are now Korea and Germany” and pledging industrial cooperation, while Hyundai Motor Group chair Euisun Chung joins the delegation to explore broader Canadian business opportunities and to support the submarine programme that calls for 8‑12 vessels and domestic repair and auto‑factory commitments [8][9].

Jan 27, 2026 – Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Systems sign five Canadian partnership agreements at a Toronto forum, including a $251 million Algoma Steel investment, AI collaboration with Cohere, and LEO satellite work with Telesat, to satisfy Canada’s offset requirements and strengthen the Korean bid [6]; later that day the South Korean Cabinet formally approves the intelligence‑sharing pact negotiated in October, signalling high‑level political backing for the submarine effort [7].

Jan 29, 2026 – Kang Hoon‑sik delivers President Lee’s personal letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa, brief­ing officials on advanced Korean submarine technology and describing the prospective contract as a “major step forward” that could become South Korea’s largest defence sale in Western markets and a springboard into NATO procurement [5].

Jan 31, 2026 – Returning from Canada and Norway, Kang Hoon‑sik tells reporters that the Korean consortium’s technology “is significantly better” than rivals and expresses confidence in overcoming challenges through industrial cooperation, while noting that the contract award could be announced within six months to a year and that Canadian officials will travel to South Korea for further talks [4]; he also highlights Hanwha Aerospace’s recent 19 billion‑kroner artillery deal in Norway as evidence of expanding export success [4].

Feb 2, 2026 – Canada’s defence procurement chief Stephen Fuhr tours Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard, walks through automation zones, and boards the 3,600‑ton Jang Yeong‑sil submarine, calling the experience “amazing” and emphasizing the importance of automotive‑sector offsets and economic value for the CPSP [3].

Feb 5, 2026 – Defence Minister Ahn Gyu‑back meets Stephen Fuhr in Seoul, stressing South Korea’s “swift and stable” delivery capability and indigenous submarine expertise as a competitive advantage for the $41 billion Canadian patrol submarine project [1]; later that day Kang Hoon‑sik meets Fuhr at Cheong Wa Dae, reinforcing the export push and confirming that Ottawa plans to select a builder for the CPSP, valued at about 60 trillion won, within the coming months [2].

Future (expected) – Canada aims to award the Patrol Submarine Project by mid‑2026 to early‑2027 (six months to a year after the March 2026 proposal deadline) and will prioritize the bidder that delivers the greatest economic offsets, including domestic repair facilities and automobile‑factory commitments, while a two‑plus‑two ministerial dialogue is slated to formalize broader security cooperation [11][4][2].