Category: ROK Military

South Korea’s F-15’s are going to continue to receive needed upgrades:

The Defense Department approved a $2.8 billion, 11-year hybrid contract with Boeing to modify F-15K Slam Eagle fighters for the South Korean air force, the Pentagon announced Friday. The contract calls for “design and development of an integrated suite of aircraft systems” as part of overall modernization of the Slam Eagles, the South Korean variant of the F-15 Eagle fourth-generation fighter.

The U.S. government, which acts as a go-between, paying the contractor and collecting from South Korea, advanced $540 million under the contract as part of the Foreign Military Sales program. Boeing delivered the first of 40 Slam Eagles to Seoul in October 2005. It contracted for another 21 aircraft in April 2008, according to a company news release in April 2012.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The ROK might want to consider having some of these missiles pointed across the Yellow Sea as well because the Chinese likely have missiles pointed at South Korea:

South Korea’s military has begun deploying the high-power Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile, military sources said Sunday, as Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back called for a “balance of terror” to counter North Korea’s nuclear threat.

The surface-to-surface missile — dubbed a “monster” because of its size — is designed to strike underground bunkers and is a key element of South Korea’s plan to deter and, if necessary, respond to a major North Korean attack.

South Korea has increasingly emphasized conventional strike capabilities as it seeks to strengthen deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. 

Ahn has called for a substantial buildup of South Korea’s strike arsenal in response to North Korea’s nuclear threats.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I did not realize that the ROK Marine Corps fell under the control of the ROK Army. Well that is about to soon change:

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back gives a red name tag to a conscript at the Marine Corps Education and Training Group in the southeastern port city of Pohang on Dec. 26, 2025, in this photo provided by his office. (Yonhap)

The operational control of two Marine divisions, now governed by the Army, will be restored to the Marine Corps for the first time in 50 years as part of a military overhaul, the defense ministry said Wednesday.

The move is designed to ensure the independence of the Marine Corps by fully restoring its operational control over its military units.

Under the plan, the operational control of the 1st Marine Division and the 2nd Marine Division will be returned to the Marine Corps by the end of 2026 and 2028, respectively.

The operation control of the 1st Marine Division currently lies with the Army’s commander of the 2nd Operation Command, while that of the 2nd Marine Division is subject to control of the Army’s Capital Corps.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

These generals despite being dismissed from the military are still being tried in civilian court and could be jailed:

The defense ministry said Monday it has decided to take “severe” disciplinary action against five senior Army officers for their involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed bid to impose martial law last year.

The decision came after the ministry held a committee meeting earlier this month to decide on disciplinary action against eight senior Army officers — seven generals and one colonel — involved in the martial law bid on Dec. 3 last year. (…..)

Yeo and Lee are believed to face removal from office, the toughest level of disciplinary action.

Kwak is said to face dismissal, the second-highest level of punishment imposed, in consideration of his efforts to help restore constitutional order and uncover the truth behind the martial law through testimonies at Yoon’s trials.

Meanwhile, a former Army vice chief of staff was also reportedly handed the second-highest level of disciplinary action, while a colonel with the Defense Counterintelligence Command was given a two-month suspension.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It was a big day recently for the Lee family that founded the Samsung group:

Founding family members of the Samsung Group gathered on Friday to witness the commissioning of Lee Ji-ho, the eldest son of Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong, as a Navy officer following his completion of an 11-week officer candidate course.

The commissioning ceremony was attended by Chair Lee, his mother, Hong Ra-hee; the honorary director of Samsung’s Leeum Museum of Art; and his sister Lee Seo-hyun, the president of Samsung C&T.

Lee Ji-ho’s mother and Chair Lee’s ex-wife, Lim Se-ryung, was also in attendance.

Lee served as the flag representative for the 139th class of officer candidates, a role the Navy says is given to those who show exemplary conduct by cooperating closely with fellow trainees and actively participating in drills.

The 139th class consists of 84 candidates, including Lee.

Born in the US in 2000, Lee held dual citizenship, which he renounced to enlist and serve in the Navy.

Lee’s decision to enlist has been viewed as significant, given how uncommon it is for members of the Samsung family to complete military service.

Chair Lee’s eldest son is expected to serve for a total of 39 months, including 36 months of mandatory duty after three months of training. The officer service period in South Korea is 39 months across all branches, compared to 18 months for Army enlistees, 20 months in the Navy and 21 months in the Air Force.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but good on Lee Ji-ho for doing his mandatory service. He could of easily gotten out of it by remaining an American citizen, but instead decided to commission as an officer and do extra time in service.

It looks like the ROK military is adjusting its recruitment standards in order to meet manpower needs with a shrinking population:

The South Korean military plans to introduce an adjustment program next year for service members from a multicultural background who face difficulties communicating in Korean, the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday, as concerns mount over linguistic barriers and uneven support across units.

Under the new plan, recruits may voluntarily indicate their Korean-language communication ability when completing personal information forms for their physical examination. Those who feel their proficiency is insufficient will be eligible to join the program, which will consist of one week of adjustment training followed by five weeks of basic training. The additional week will also count toward mandatory service time.

The program, which is currently available four times a year to overseas permanent residents who voluntarily enlist, will be expanded to include soldiers with diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds beginning next year. Training will cover Korean-language practice, repeated instruction in daily and military expressions, etiquette education, unit-level communication drills, military-life simulations and base facility tours.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

I really do not see a defense need of why the ROK needs a nuclear powered submarines unless the goal is create a future export market for them:

 The presidential office on Thursday welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to approve South Korea’s bid to build a nuclear-powered submarine, vowing to closely cooperate with the U.S. throughout the process.

Trump wrote on social media on Thursday that he had given South Korea approval to build a nuclear-powered submarine, adding it will be built at shipyards in Philadelphia.

The approval came a day after President Lee Jae Myung asked Trump to allow South Korea to have nuclear fuel to build nuclear-powered submarines during their summit held in the southeastern city of Gyeongju.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Good luck trying to get the ROK to reorient any of their defense strategy towards China. The ROK received large economic retaliation from China just for hosting a U.S. THAAD. Could you imagine the retaliation if the ROK started reorienting defenses such as long range strike missiles towards China?:

Many South Korean defense capabilities could contribute to deterring an assertive China, a senior Pentagon official said Tuesday, stressing that the United States’ defense priorities should focus on addressing the “most serious” military threat of the Asian superpower.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for East Asia John Noh, the nominee for assistant secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs, made the remarks in his written answers to advance questions from the Senate Committee on Armed Services, asserting the need for South Korea and other allies to “dramatically” increase their defense spending and take greater responsibility for regional security.

“While the ROK should focus primarily on leading the U.S.-ROK alliance’s conventional deterrence against the DPRK, many capabilities could also contribute to a deterrence of China,” Noh said. ROK and DPRK stand for the respective official names of South Korea and North Korea, the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“Capabilities, such as long-range fires, integrated air and missile defense, space and electronic warfare capabilities, could provide a meaningful impact to strengthen deterrence in the region against both threats,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here will be the latest addition to the ROK military:

The South Korean military has chosen the U.S.-based defense firm L3Harris Technologies to supply surveillance aircraft in a $2.2 billion agreement Tuesday. The South Korean military expects delivery of the aircraft by 2032 and will employ them against “increasing aerial threats from North Korea and other regional countries,” according to a news release from the Seoul-based Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

An agency spokesman reached by phone Thursday declined to provide additional details on the agreement. The agreement revolves around four Bombardier Global 6500 jets modified with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, South Korean news outlets Yonhap News and Chosun Ilbo reported Tuesday.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The experts in this case are not wrong:

The short answer, analysts say, is no.

South Korea’s multi-layered air defense network, known as the Korea Air and Missile Defense, cannot fully protect the country from a large-scale missile or artillery barrage by North Korea. The system is designed to limit damage, not to guarantee safety.

Overall, an expert judged that if North Korea were to launch multiple types of weapons simultaneously, it would be difficult to block them all with this network alone.

“Even with a multi-layered defense in place, many experts, including myself, believe that the system on its own would struggle to withstand a mixed, simultaneous strike from North Korea,” said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

Experts also note that the proximity between the two Koreas, with Seoul 40 kilometers away from the Demilitarized Zone, leaves the South with very little reaction time if the North decides to strike. Long-range artillery could strike the capital in minutes, they say.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but the difference between Israel and North Korea is the long range artillery. Israel largely eliminated Hezbollah prior to the confrontation with Iran in order to limit the rocket attacks from Lebanon. During a conflict with North Korea, Seoul could be pummeled with artillery fire which would require an extensive number of C-RAM batteries to intercept which the ROK or the USFK does not have.

Another difference in a battle with North Korea is the volume of missiles fired. Iran due to its distance from Israel had limited number of launchers to fire longer range missiles. Due to how close South Korea is, North Korea can use short and medium range ballistic missile launchers to target South Korea. Both the ROK and USFK have missile defense units to defend against these threats, but the question becomes how many interceptors do they have compared to North Korea’s ballistic missile inventory?