ROKS Gwanggaeto the Great (DDH-971) is the lead ship of the Gwanggaeto the Great-class in the Republic of Korea Navy.

[1] The KDX-I was designed to replace the old destroyers in the ROKN that were transferred from the US Navy in the 1950s and 1960s.

It was thought to be a major turning point for the ROKN in that the launching of the first KDX-I meant that ROKN finally had a capability to project power far from its shores.

After the launching of the ship, there was a massive boom in South Korean international participation against piracy and military operations other than war.

[2] ROKS Gwanggaeto the Great was launched on 28 October 1996 by Daewoo Shipbuilding and commissioned on 24 July 1998.