Sejong the Great - class destroyer The " Sejong the Great " class destroyers ( Sejongdaewang - Ham or Hangul : 세종대왕급 구축함 ) , also known as KD - III , are guided missile destroyer s of the Republic of Korea Navy . The lead ship was launched 25 May 2007 , sponsored by Kwon Yang - sook , the First Lady of the Republic of Korea at the time and was commissioned in December 2008 . The second ship was commissioned in August 2010 . As of 2010 , the ROK Navy has committed itself to deploy three ships with an option for three more . Background . The ship features the Aegis combat system ( Baseline 7 Phase 1 ) combined with AN / SPY - 1 D multi - function radar antennae . The " Sejong the Great " class is the third phase of the Republic of Korea Navy ' s Korean Destroyer eXperimental ( KDX ) program , a substantial shipbuilding program , which is geared toward enhancing ROKN ' s ability to successfully defend the maritime areas around Korea from various modes of threats as well as becoming a blue - water navy . At 8 , 500 tons standard displacement and 11 , 000 tons full load , the KDX - III " Sejong the Great " destroyers are by far the largest destroyers in the Republic of Korea Navy , and built slightly bulkier and heavier than " Arleigh Burke " class destroyers or " Atago " class destroyers to accommodate 32 more missiles . KDX - III are currently the largest surface warfare ships to carry the Aegis combat system . Armaments . " Sejong the Great " class destroyers ' main gun is the 127mm / L62 Mk . 45 Mod 4 naval gun , an improved version of the same gun used on other warships from several foreign nations . Point - defense armaments include one 30 mm Goalkeeper CIWS and a RIM - 116 Rolling Airframe Missile Block 1 21 - round launcher , the first Aegis platform to carry RAM . Anti - aircraft armament consists of SM - 2 Block IIIA and IIIB in 80 - cell VLS . Anti - Submarine Warfare armaments consists of both K - ASROC " Hong Sahng - uh " ( Red Shark ) anti - submarine rockets and 32 K745 LW " Cheong Sahng - uh " ( Blue Shark ) torpedoes . Anti - ship capability is provided by 16 SSM - 700K " Hae Sung " ( Sea Star ) long - range anti - ship missile , each with performance similar to the U . S . Harpoon . Land - attack capability is provided by the recently developed Hyunmoo III C ( Guardian of the Northern Sky ) cruise missile , which is similar to the U . S . Tomahawk . Capabilities . " Sejong the Great " class destroyers ' are often compared to " Arleigh Burke " class and " Atago " class because they utilize the AN / SPY - 1 multi - function radar , have similar propulsion and capabilities . One notable difference between the " Sejong the Great " - class ships and " Burke " s is the number of VLS cells . Destroyers of the " Sejong the Great " class will have a capacity of 128 missiles , as opposed to 96 on the " Arleigh Burke " class ( although ships in the Arleigh Burke class has the capability to quad - pack 4 ESSM missiles into one launch cell , greatly increasing armament ) and the Japanese " Atago " class destroyers . The " Sejong the Great " class is thus one of the most heavily armed ship in the world second only to " Kirov " class battlecruiser with 352 missiles . Another similarity to " Arleigh Burke " class Flight IIA and " Atago " class destroyers is the presence of full facilities for two helicopters , a feature missing from earlier " Arleigh Burke " and Kongō class destroyer s . Three of these destroyers have , according to South Korean news agency Chosan Ilbo , the capability to " track and monitor any missile launched from anywhere from the North . " This capability was demonstrated by the tracking of a North Korean Missile in April 2009 . Hull names . On April 20 , 2007 , Chief of Naval Operations of the Republic of Korea Navy announced that the lead ship of KDX - III class destroyers will be referred as the " Sejong the Great " . Sejong the Great ( Hangul : 세종대왕 ) is the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea . He is credited with the creation of the Korean alphabet , Hangul .