Tag: ROK Navy

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.

The ROK Navy has added some new capabilities:

Six P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes Twere inaugurated into South Korea’s navy Thursday in hopes of better detecting sea-based threats in and around the Korean Peninsula. The twin-engine aircraft, delivered in June 2024, began flying for the South Korean navy Thursday, the service said in a news release the same day.

South Korean pilots, crew members and mechanics familiarized themselves with the aircraft for a year before reporting to the fleet for operations, according to the navy. South Korea’s military purchased six Poseidons from the United States for roughly $1.6 billion in 2018. The aircraft is meant to replace the South Korean navy’s aging fleet of P-3 Orions, which have been in service since 1995.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

A tragic accident appears to have happened to cause this ROK Navy P9 aircraft to crash:

All four Navy officers aboard a maritime patrol aircraft were killed after the plane crashed on a mountain in the southeastern city of Pohang on Thursday, the Navy said. 

The crash occurred at around 1:49 p.m., and witnesses reported smoke rising from the mountain with sounds of explosions. 

“A P-3 maritime patrol aircraft that took off at 1:43 p.m. for landing and takeoff training from an air base in Pohang crashed at a nearby location at around 1:49 p.m., due to an unspecified reason,” the Navy said.

Four people were on board — two commissioned officers and two non-commissioned officers.

The Navy said it recovered the dead bodies of all four officers. The officers’ identities have yet to be confirmed.

The aircraft was usually based at a Navy unit on the southern island of Jeju, but had flown to Pohang for training, a Navy official said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If South Korea develops their own nuclear powered submarines it would not be because of threats from North Korea, but instead preparing for war with China instead:

The chief of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has said the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) in South Korea could be considered in the future depending on its operational analysis, the presidential office said Sunday. 

“From the standpoint of submarine warfare, I think it’s important as allies and partners to find the most efficient and effective ways to combine our capabilities in ways that most effectively defend our alliances and partnerships,” Commander Adm. Samuel Paparo said during an interview with the South Korean press Thursday on the runway of the Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.

“And if the operational analysis leads us to believe that, then we can move forward at a later date,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This may be signaling that the ROK may be interested in developing their own nuclear submarines in the future:

Adm. Yang Yong-mo (R), chief of naval operations, poses for a photo with Rear Adm. Thomas Buchanan (L), the commander of Submarine Group 10, which oversees Ohio-class submarines at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia on Feb. 2, 2024, in this photo provided by the South’s Navy on Feb. 4.

South Korea’s top naval officer visited a key naval submarine base in the United States for the first time and stressed the need to strengthen ties against growing North Korean threats, the South’s Navy said Sunday.

Adm. Yang Yong-mo, chief of naval operations, visited the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia, a southeastern coastal base home to key nuclear submarines, on Friday (local time), according to the Navy.

It marks the first time for a South Korean Navy chief to visit the base, which operates nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), a key U.S. strategic asset. SSBN is a sea-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad that also includes intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.