The Republic of Korea Army is the land fighting force of the Republic of South Korea and the largest component of the ROK Armed Forces. It is responsible for domestic or homeland security of the Republic of South Korea.
It has participated in various UN peace-keeping missions, rescue missions, reconnaissance missions, counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency missions.
ROK army was founded on 5th September 1948. It was mainly formed and developed during the Korean War. Motto of ROK Army is “A Strong Friend, Republic of Korean Army”.
President of South Korea is the Commander-in-Chief of the ROK Army and ROK Army is headed by the Chief of Army Staff. Republic of Korea Army is 7th largest standing Army in the world with 464,000 active personnel.
If we talk about the command structure of the ROK Army, there are 9 commands in the country:
- Capital Defence Command
- Special Warfare Command
- Aviation Operations Command
- Army Missile Command
- Army Training and Doctrine Command
- Army Mobilization Force Command
- Army Logistics Command
- Ground Operations Command
- Second Operations Command
When it comes to equipment, ROK Army has a satisfactory amount of ground weapons. It have 2300 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), 2800 Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs), 5800 artillery pieces, 200 multiple rocket launchers and 60 guided missile systems.
As per the conscription in the constitution, every youngster has to serve in the Republic of Korea Army for at least 3 years.
