A senior US State Department official said she gained fresh insight into the growing demands of naval architecture and workforce development during a shipbuilding-focused roundtable in Seoul on Wednesday, underscoring Washington’s push to deepen cooperation with South Korea in the sector.

Sarah Rogers, US undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, said in a Wednesday post on X that she “learned tons about the demands — and tremendous potential — of naval-architecture engineering and workforce development” during the roundtable hosted by the US Embassy in Seoul, the previous day.

Sarah Rogers (left), US undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, speaks during a shipbuilding-focused roundtable held at the US Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday, in this photo posted on her X account on Wednesday. (@UnderSecPD, X) Sarah Rogers (left), US undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, speaks during a shipbuilding-focused roundtable held at the US Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday, in this photo posted on her X account on Wednesday. (@UnderSecPD, X)

A senior US State Department official said she gained fresh insight into the growing demands of naval architecture and workforce development during a shipbuilding-focused roundtable in Seoul on Wednesday, underscoring Washington’s push to deepen cooperation with South Korea in the sector.

Sarah Rogers, US undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, said in a Wednesday post on X that she “learned tons about the demands — and tremendous potential — of naval-architecture engineering and workforce development” during the roundtable hosted by the US Embassy in Seoul, the previous day.

“The United States is committed to advancing our maritime industry and building a highly skilled U.S. maritime workforce,” Rogers wrote, adding that partnerships with South Korean shipbuilding experts across academia, industry and government, including work-exchange programs, would help strengthen innovation and collaboration.

Her remarks come as Washington moves to rebuild its domestic shipbuilding base while leveraging South Korea’s global competitiveness in the sector, an area increasingly linked to economic security and defense readiness.

Shipbuilding cooperation was identified as a key pillar in last year’s South Korea-US Joint Fact Sheet drawn up after bilateral summit agreements between the two countries. Under the framework, Seoul pledged to channel part of its $350 billion investment package into strategic industries in the US, including shipbuilding, as Washington seeks to revitalize its maritime industrial capacity.

The initiative reflects US concerns over shrinking domestic shipyard capacity and workforce shortages, particularly in naval construction, at a time when maritime capabilities are seen as critical to countering China’s naval expansion and ensuring resilient supply chains.

Rogers’ itinerary in Seoul included leading the second South Korea-US public diplomacy dialogue on Wednesday, where she met with her South Korean counterpart, Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Lim Sang-woo, to discuss bilateral cooperation.

Following the talks held at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, Rogers wrote on X that “public diplomacy is where policy meets people.” She added that the two sides signed a memorandum of cooperation to launch joint celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of US independence.

Rogers arrived in Seoul on Tuesday after a brief visit to Japan. In another post on X, she announced she would discuss shipbuilding, South Korea’s revised Network Act and K-pop diplomacy during her Korea leg.

The Network Act — formally the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection — is expected to be a key topic during her visit, following rare and pointed criticism from Washington over the legislation.

After the bill passed South Korea’s National Assembly late last year, Rogers warned on X that while the amendment appeared to target defamatory deepfakes, it “reaches much further — and endangers tech cooperation.”

She also argued that providing civil remedies for victims would be preferable to granting regulators broad authority that could enable “viewpoint-based censorship,” a stance she is expected to reiterate in Seoul.

The revised law, set to take effect in July, defines content inciting violence or discrimination as illegal information and prohibits the dissemination of illegal as well as false or manipulated content online, with penalties for violations.

It also introduces obligations for large platform operators to identify and manage such content — including measures such as removal or access restrictions — and was modeled in part on the European Union’s Digital Services Act.

Washington’s public reaction to the law has drawn attention, as it marked a rare instance of the US weighing in on domestic legislation in a close ally.

US officials and analysts have raised concerns that the law’s definitions of “false” and “manipulated” information are overly broad and could be applied arbitrarily, potentially granting authorities sweeping discretion over online content.

The law allows courts to impose damages of up to five times the proven harm for the intentional spread of illegal or false manipulated information. It also enables platforms to take measures such as account suspension, demonetization and service termination.

Critics warn that the legislation could affect US-based tech firms, including Google, Meta and X, aligning with Washington’s broader pushback against foreign regulations seen as constraining American platforms.

The issue also intersects with commitments made in last year’s Korea-US joint fact sheet, in which both governments agreed to ensure US companies do not face discrimination or unnecessary regulatory barriers in digital services.

Against this backdrop, Rogers’ visit is expected to focus on promoting “digital freedom” alongside strengthening economic and people-to-people ties, according to a recent US Embassy statement.
Source: The Korea Herald