Category: ROK Military

South Korea continues to increase its military engagement with Ukraine by providing some much needed mine clearing vehicles:

Fortunately for Ukraine, South Korean firm Hyundai produces a similar breaching vehicle: the K600. And Seoul just pledged two of the 62-ton vehicles to Kyiv. South Korea will deliver the K600s “as soon as possible,” a government source told Chosun.

Hyundai makes a two-person K600 by removing the turret from a K1 tank—a South Korean variant of the American M-1—and adding a plow, an articulated excavator arm and a device for safely triggering magnetic mines.

The K600 is compatible with two dozer blades, both made by Pearson. A wedge-shape blade works best for digging up and shoving aside buried mines. A straight blade works better for generic engineering tasks: filling in trenches, digging revetments, et cetera.

Hyundai delivered the first K600s to the South Korean army in 2020. The South Korean and Ukrainian governments began discussing a K600 transfer back in May; the South Koreans finally approved the deal this month. There’s one caveat. The Ukrainians must deploy the vehicles only in “humanitarian” roles.

The caveat is meaningless. Arguably any mineclearing operation—even one that occurs while the engineers are under enemy fire—is humanitarian.

Forbes via a reader tip

You can read more at the link.

This is the one area where the ROK military is lacking compared to North Korea’s military, conducting parades:

This Oct. 1, 2013 file photo shows a military parade taking place in central Seoul to mark Armed Forces Day. Yonhap

South Korea will stage a large-scale military parade in central Seoul later this month for the first time in a decade, featuring tanks, fighter jets and other advanced assets, to mark the 75th anniversary of Armed Forces Day, defense officials said Wednesday.

Some 4,000 troops and over 170 pieces of military equipment, including K2 battle tanks, the country’s new “high-power” missile, and attack drones, will parade from Sungnyemun Gate to Gwanghwamun Square on Sept. 26 to commemorate the landmark anniversary, according to the officials.

This year’s event will proceed under the theme of “strong military, strong security, and peace through strength” to demonstrate the military’s resolve to defend the country, with a focus on sending a message to North Korea against provocations, one of the officials said. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The South Korean military is facing suicide problems just like the U.S. military, but is focusing on bullying as the reason. I don’t support bullying in the military, but I think it has more to do with today’s youth being poorly conditioned both physically and mentally prior to entering military service. A lot of youth in South Korea do not conduct much physical activity, are on their phones all day, and playing video games. They are conscripted into the military where phones and video games are not as freely available and are doing exhausting physical activity which they are not used to. I think this all plays into why Soldiers may commit suicide especially when they are forced to be there:

Kim Gi-cheol remembers his son’s determination to fulfill his military duty as a South Korean citizen, despite having the opportunity to secure an exemption by acquiring foreign nationality.

Having spent an extended period abroad, his son was relatively unfamiliar with the Korean language and culture. Nevertheless, Kim never imagined that his son, who was proud to serve his home country, would be dead just three months after enlisting.

In November 2022, while stationed at a general post in Yanggu County, Gangwon Province near the inter-Korean border, Pvt. Kim took his own life.

The military and the police concluded the case as a suicide, presenting the rifle he used and testimony from his colleagues as evidence.

As the investigation unfolded, Kim’s father learned that his son had faced “systemic” bullying from his colleagues and military officers, and that he had trouble adjusting to military life. Pvt. Kim was reportedly pushed to the brink, forced to take on guard duties without adequate training amid an escalating security situation following North Korea’s consecutive missile launches.

“If someone is pondering changing their nationality, I implore them to do so without a second thought,” Kim told The Korea Herald. “Why should we subject our children to the military of the Republic of Korea, which has fallen into such a dismal state?”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but does anyone else have any theories on why ROK military servicemembers commit suicide?

It looks like if a young Korean person wants to have their college paid for, an ROTC scholarship is a very easy one to receive now:

Cadets of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) throw their hats in the air during a commencement and commissioning ceremony at the Army Cadet Military School in Goesan, North Chungcheong Province, Feb. 28. Newsis

The ROK military is facing a severe shortage in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) applicants as young people increasingly shun the junior officer position apparently because of pay rates and the long service periods.

According to the Army, the Korean Military Academy will announce an additional recruitment notice for ROTC candidates in August. The decision comes as the application rate for the ROTC program hit a record low this year, with the number of applicants falling short of the number of available spots. 

It is the first time the Army will seek additional recruitment processes for cadets since the ROTC system was introduced here in 1961. 

ROTC is a college-based officer commissioning program, under which cadets undergo physical and military education for four semesters and then serve for 24 to 36 months in the military after being commissioned.

There were about 16,000 ROTC applicants in 2016, but the figure steadily fell by 2,000 each year to mark 5,000 this year. The competition ratio, which stood at 4.8 to 1 in 2015, plunged to 2.4 to 1 in 2022. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I knew a ROK Air Force lieutenant who told me he went ROTC simply because he could guarantee going into the Air Force and receive better treatment compared to being a conscript. He said the extra time in service was worth the better treatment.

Condolences to the friends and family of the ROK Marine killed this week during flood rescue operations:

Rescue workers carry the body of a marine to an ambulance in Yecheon on July 19, 2023. He went missing earlier in the day after being swept away by a torrent while participating in search and rescue operations in the area. (Yonhap)

Rescue workers on Wednesday found the body of a marine who went missing after being swept away by a torrent in a southeastern county while participating in search and rescue (SAR) operations after heavy monsoon rains and landslides in the area.

The marine corporal, serving with the 1st Marine Infantry Division, disappeared into the Naeseong stream rapids in Yecheon County, North Gyeongsang Province, 161 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at about 9:10 a.m. during SAR operations, ROK Marine Corps officials said. 

His body was discovered downstream at around 11:08 p.m. 

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Since this incident apparently happened on Camp Humphreys back in 2018 it makes me wonder if this was a KATUSA soldier that was slapped?:

South Korean soldiers walk on the grounds of Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Friday, July 7, 2023. (Christopher Green/Stars and Stripes)

 A former South Korean army officer cleared of assault charges after slapping a subordinate on a U.S. military base in 2018 must stand trial again after the country’s highest court reversed an appellate court’s ruling.

The officer — identified as a colonel in South Korean media reports — was convicted in a military court of assault for lightly slapping a soldier five to eight times for failing to salute, according to a June 15 decision by the Supreme Court of Korea. The conviction carried a maximum two-year prison term. 

The decision sends the case to the Seoul High Court for retrial. 

Both soldiers served in the same unit that supported the U.S. armed forces, according to the supreme court decision. The incident occurred at an unspecified base in Pyeongtaek, home of the U.S. Army’s Camp Humphreys and the Air Force’s Osan Air Base.

Names, ranks and other information about the soldiers were redacted in the court filing. Except in extreme cases of “cruel” crimes, South Korean law protects the identity of the accused.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but back in the day physical punishment for infractions like this was common which is probably why this Colonel thought it was okay to slap the soldier. I once did combined training with a ROK Army unit and at morning formation a ROK soldier ran to formation a few seconds late and the platoon sergeant slapped him, pushed him to the ground, and kicked him. No one ever showed up late to formation the rest of the exercise.

The ROK Navy recently fielded new submarines that are large enough to house separate living areas for female sailors:

One of the United States’ closest military allies has selected its first group of enlisted women to serve aboard submarines starting next year.

Seven female noncommissioned officers were chosen from more than 20 applicants to undergo training for submarine service, the Ministry of National Defense said in a press release Monday.

Training is expected to last until January or February and is required for all submariners, a South Korean navy spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday.

Two commissioned naval officers selected last month to serve on a submarine are also undergoing training, the spokesman added.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here is an update on South Korea’s efforts to create a drone unit that can respond both offensively and defensively against North Korea:

South Korean military drones fly during joint drills with the United States at Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, in this May 23 photo. The Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday promulgated a decree for the launch of a multipurpose drone operations unit. AP-Yonhap

The Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday promulgated a decree for the launch of a multipurpose drone operations unit as part of efforts to counter North Korea’s evolving air threats and to reinforce the capabilities that have become increasingly critical in modern warfare.

The declaration comes six months after President Yoon Suk Yeol told his military officials to create a command center for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strategies for both offensive and defensive missions.

The unit, which is expected to be established in September, will take direct orders from Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and take on reconnaissance, strike and other roles. Its presence in the military may well expand as its interoperability with other units improve, officials said.

But the location and leader of the unit have not been determined yet.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but according to the article the city of Pocheon just north of Uijeongbu in Gyeongi province is one of the leading sites to base the new drone unit at.

South Korea is expanding naval cooperation with Japan and Australia in an upcoming exercise in the waters off of Guam:

This file photo, released by the South Korean Navy on April 17, 2023, shows three Aegis-equipped destroyers — the South’s Yulgok Yi I (front), the Benfold (C) of the U.S. Navy and the JS Atago of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force — sailing in waters off South Korea’s east coast.

 South Korea’s Navy said Sunday it will participate in a U.S.-led multinational maritime exercise in waters off Guam next month to enhance combined operational capabilities. 

The Pacific Vanguard exercise is scheduled to take place from July 1-12, involving the naval forces from South Korea, the United States, Australia and Japan. 

The Korean Navy will send the 4,400-ton Munmu the Great destroyer to the exercise.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The Russians and Chinese are showing they are unhappy with trilateral security cooperation between the U.S., Japan, and ROK:

Four Chinese and four Russian military planes entered South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) without notice Tuesday, Seoul’s military said, prompting the South Korean Air Force to send its fighter jets to the scene.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that between 11:52 a.m. and 1:49 p.m., the Chinese and Russian aircraft entered the southern and eastern parts of the KADIZ, respectively, and exited it. They did not violate South Korea’s air space, it added.

“Our military identified the Chinese and Russian planes before their entry into the KADIZ and deployed Air Force fighters to conduct tactical steps in preparation against potential accidental situations,” the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.