Republic of Korea Armed Forces

The Armed Forces Formation Period (1945-1950)

The creation of paramilitary groups ("guard units of national defense" and "coast guard units") in the US zone of military occupation began by order of the military administration No. 28 of November 13, 1945. At the end of 1945, the Department of Korean Armed Forces was created under the American military administration, the construction of naval and air bases began, and schools for the training and retraining of military personnel were opened.

In August 1948, the United States entered into a military agreement with South Korea, according to which South Korea placed at the disposal of the American military command airfields, ports and military installations in exchange for receiving American weapons and military equipment ^[2] .

The official date for the creation of the South Korean armed forces is November 30, 1948, when the Law on the Establishment of a National Army was published and the military service system was introduced.

In 1949, the first program of military assistance to the South Korean government was adopted in the United States, which provided for the supply of American weapons and military equipment, as well as training for command personnel of the South Korean army ^[3] . Only during 1949, the United States transferred $ 190 million worth of arms and military equipment to the South Korean army (including 4.9 thousand army trucks; 105 thousand rifles and 2 thousand American-made machine guns; 2 thousand anti-tank grenade launchers “bazooka” "; 105-mm howitzers, etc.) ^[2] .

In June 1949, military facilities at the disposal of the US military administration on the territory of South Korea were officially transferred to the disposal of the South Korean armed forces, the total number of which at that moment amounted to more than 100 thousand people. (not counting 50 thousand police officers) ^[2] .

In January 1950, an agreement was concluded between South Korea and the United States on the creation of the American “military mission” and the institution of military advisers for the combat training of the South Korean armed forces (their total number during this period was 500 instructor officers) ^[4] .

Armed forces after the end of the Korean War

At the time of the end of the Korean War, the total number of South Korean armed forces was 650 thousand people.

In the postwar period, military cooperation with the United States was continued and intensified.

In August 1953, the "Korean-American Mutual Defense Treaty" was signed between the United States and South Korea, and in November 1954, the "Agreement on Military and Economic Assistance to South Korea."

In June 1966, South Korea joined the Asia-Pacific Council (AZPAK).

During the Vietnam War, US direct military assistance for the South Korean army increased significantly (in the years 1961-1966 - $ 0.8 billion; in 1966-1970 - $ 1.7 billion; in 1971-1973 - 1, 45 billion dollars), in addition, the United States increased economic loans to South Korea and gave it a number of military orders.

A new stage in US policy is associated with the " Nixon Doctrine ", one of the goals of which was to reduce direct American military participation in military conflicts, the practical consequence of this was the partial withdrawal of (20 thousand) American troops from the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. At the same time, gratuitous US military assistance began to be gradually replaced by the supply of military property on credit and in cash (which led to an increase of 7.2 times in the state budget of South Korea for military needs in 1970-1976).

The Pentagon has entered into several secret agreements: the US authorities illegally paid $ 1.7 billion to South Korea to take part in the war. During the 1950-1970s, South Korea received seven times more foreign military assistance than North Korea. ^[five]

In the future, the program of development of its own military-industrial complex, adopted in 1977-1981, provided for South Korea to meet the requirements for the production of all types of weapons, with the exception of aircraft and high-tech electronic equipment. In particular, the production of ammunition, small arms, artillery systems, and volcano anti-aircraft mounts was established under US licenses. Automotive industry launched the production of armored personnel carriers, shipbuilding - patrol boats. Since 1978, the South Korean military industry began assembling tanks and helicopters.

In the 1980s, under the Reagan administration , direct American military and financial assistance to South Korea was again increased ^[6] .

The Armed Forces of South Korea took part in a number of cross-border armed conflicts and incidents on the demarcation line with the DPRK. According to Soviet sources, “only from January to December 1949, in the region of the 38th parallel, 1836 cases of invasion and provocation against the DPRK were committed, a significant number of spies and saboteurs were thrown across the border,” in 1950 provocations continued at the border ^{[2 ]} .

Since June 25, 1950, she participated in the war with North Korea .

War in Vietnam (1964-1973)

The first South Korean troops (a group of instructors of 10 officers and a field surgical center of 130 soldiers and officers) arrived in Vietnam in 1964, and large combat units in the autumn of 1965. In total, two infantry divisions (" Ferocious Tiger " and " White Horse ") and one brigade of marine corps (" Blue Dragon "), as well as a transport aviation unit and technical troops, which made up the largest foreign military contingent after American (46 thousand military personnel + 4 thousand civil servants of the rear units).

The South Korean government agreed to send troops on the condition that the United States take over their logistical support and maintenance, as well as provide modern weapons.

In total, during the war, 30,000 Vietnamese were killed by South Korean military personnel ^[7] .

South Korea withdrew its troops from Vietnam in 1973 - the last of the allies of the United States. In total, more than 300 thousand troops passed through the war, the cost of maintaining the South Korean military contingent amounted to 927.5 million US dollars, military losses - 3094 people killed and 6051 wounded ^[7] .

War in Afghanistan

The South Korean contingent was sent to Afghanistan in 2002. In 2007, the contingent was about 200 people ^[8] , in December 2007 the contingent was withdrawn from Afghanistan ^[9] . In October 2009, a decision was announced to send a new civilian contingent to Afghanistan ^[10] and in February 2010 a decision was made to send 350 troops to Afghanistan ^[11] . The location of the South Korean contingent was repeatedly bombarded ^[12] - only in the period from January 1 to June 23, 2011 there were 11 cases ^[13] , shelling continued even later ^[14] . On September 10, 2012, the South Korean contingent HH-60P Black Hawk was damaged by artillery fire at Bagram airbase ^[15] . As of November 2012, the total number of South Korean contingent in Afghanistan was 350 military personnel, 40 police officers and 100 civilian specialists ^[16] .

The losses of the South Korean contingent in Afghanistan are 2 soldiers killed: 1 South Korean officer (captain Kim Hyo-sun ) was shot dead on January 29, 2003 in Kabul by a major of the South Korean army ^[17] ; another (sergeant Yoon Jang-ho ) died on February 27, 2007 at Bagram air base as a result of a suicide bombing ^[18] .

The Iraq War

In 2004, the South Korean contingent in Iraq was 3,600 troops ^[19] . As of September 19, 2007, the South Korean military contingent totaled 1,200 people, it was the third largest in Iraq (after the United States and Great Britain) ^[20] . On December 18, 2008, the contingent was withdrawn from Iraq ^[21] .

The contingent losses in Iraq amounted to 1 soldier killed (soldier shot dead on May 19, 2007) ^[22] . In addition, at least 4 contract contractors and civilian specialists from South Korea were killed in Iraq (on November 30, 2003, two Omu Electric Co. employees, Kim Man Soo and Kwak Kyung Hae , were killed in Tikrit, and two more were injured ^{[23 ]} ; On June 22, 2004, translator Kim Sun Il was killed ^[19] ; on November 16, 2004, a Taehwa Electrict Co. engineer named Jung Myeong-nam ^[24] was killed by a bomb explosion.

The supreme commander in chief is the president of the country, the general leadership of the armed forces is carried out by the Minister of Defense. The operational management of the armed forces and strategic planning are carried out by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The armed forces are organized according to the American model and consist of the following arms:

• Republic of Korea Army
• Republic of Korea Naval Forces

• Marine Corps (part of the Navy)

• Republic of Korea Air Force

In addition, an independent maritime border guard and civil defense units exist in South Korea.

The Korean Ministry of Defense is a civilian organization responsible for the budget of the armed forces, their supply and personnel matters.

• Minimum military age of recruitment: 20 years
• Available military manpower: 12,483,677
• Full military personnel: 5,209,000 (at the front line - 687,000, reserve forces - 4,500,000, and paramilitary - 22,000)
• Annual military expense:
  • $ 28.94 billion (2008)
  • 25.5 billion dollars (2010) ^[1]
  • $ 28.5 billion (2011) ^[1]
  • $ 31.0 billion (2012) ^[25]
• Total labor force: 23,980,000

Ground Forces

Of the 655 thousand Korean military, 522 thousand serve in the ground forces ^[1] . The ground forces have a special forces unit .

Ground forces are divided into central subordinate forces (direct subordination to the General Staff), two field armies (PA) and one operational command.

At present, the ground forces are armed with at least 30 mobile Hyunmu-1 TR (range - 180 km), up to 100 mine-based Hyunmu-2A missiles (300 km). In addition, all MLRS can be used as launchers for the American ATACMS TR, of which there are 221.

Korean weapons are partly American and partly own-made. So, of the 2130 tanks in service, 800 were produced in South Korea (type 88), 80 in Russia (T-80), and the remaining 1250 were made in America (M-47 and M-48).

The basis of the tank fleet are K1 tanks. There are 1027 K1 and 434 K1A1 / 2. In addition, a K2 tank was created, at least 100. 43 T-80Us also belong to modern tanks. Remain in service 1111 M48 (730 A5, 381 A3). In storage are up to 531 M47.

There is a significant amount of BMP - 67 BMP-3, up to 2 thousand K200, up to 400 also K21. The armament consists of about a thousand armored personnel carriers - 420 M113 (most of which are in storage), 300 Bv 206, 275 KM-900 (copies of the Fiat-6614, most of which are in storage).

The basis of self-propelled artillery is 155 mm self-propelled guns K9. They were built at least 850. There are also 1042 155-mm self-propelled guns K55A1 (licensed copy of M109A2) and 13 M110 (203 mm) (up to 100 more in storage). In storage are up to 100 self-propelled guns M107 (175 mm). Towed guns - about 1700 M101 and their local modernized versions of KN-178, at least 1500 M114 and their local modernized versions of KN-179 (155 mm), up to 100 M115 (203 mm). There are a significant number of mortars: self-propelled K281A1 (81 mm on the chassis of the BMP K200), K242 (on the K200) and 500 K532 (on the Bv206) (107 mm), up to 4 thousand KM-29 (81 mm), 1840 M-30 ( 107 mm). MLRS - 156 K136 / A1 (130 mm), 58 MLRS M270 / A1 (227 mm).

In service are several thousand ATGMs “Tou” and 226 “Metis”.

The military air defense includes 114 K-SAM Chunma air defense systems, more than a thousand MANPADS (60 Red Ay and 133 Stinger, 350 Javelin , 406 Mistral, 50 Igla), more than 300 air defense systems on BMP K200 chassis (140 K263A1 Chungun (20 mm), 176 K30 Biho (30 mm)), about 200 anti-aircraft guns (60 M167 Volcano (20 mm), 36 GDF-003 (35 mm) and 80 L / 60 / L / 70 (40 mm)).

Army aviation numbers from 60 to 90 AH-1S Cobra combat helicopters and up to 500 multi-purpose and transport helicopters - up to 130 Hughes-500MD, from 4 to 9 MD-500D, 31 CH-47D, 83 UH-60P, to 100 UH-1H, 12 Bo-105, 13 KUH-1 (including 2 in the police aviation), 3 Bell-412 (in the police aviation). ^[26]

Military ranks

• Official Website of the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea (cor.)
• http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=South-Korea
• http://www.chekist.ru/article/421
• KoreaMilitary (club46574789) Republic of Korea information community on VK
• Military reform plan from 2014 to 2033