Ground Forces
The army consists of the Army Headquarters, the three army commands, the Aviation Command, and the Special Warfare Command. The army possesses component units including 11 corps, 50-odd divisions, about 20 brigades, some 560,000 troops, 2,200 tanks, 4,850 pieces of field artillery, and 2,200 armored vehicles. The ground forces are organized into three armies and several independent operational and functional commands.
- FROKA (First ROK Army) mission is to defend the eastern section of the DMZ.
- TROKA (Third ROK Army), South Korea's largest and most diversified combat organization, is responsible for guarding the most likely potential attack routes from North Korea to Seoul--the Munsan, Ch'orwon, and Tongduch'on corridors.
The First Army and the Third Army occupy well-fortified positions stretching southward from the DMZ about fifty kilometers. They have the task of defending their area of responsibility that ranges from the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) to the Seoul metropolitan area. They each consist of an army command and several corps commands, divisions and brigades. These armies, in order to prepare for surprise attacks and high-speed maneuver warfare launched by North Korea, deploy ROK-model tanks, a variety of firearms, TOWs and surface-to-air missiles along the major route that connects the DMZ to Seoul.
- SROKA (Second ROK Army) is responsible for defending the rear area extending from the rear of the front area to the coastline, and consists of an army command, several corps commands, divisions and brigades. The Second Army has operational command over all army reserve units, the Homeland Reserve Force, logistics, and training bases located in the six southernmost provinces. To deter North Korean ground, surface, or air invasion (or should North Korean forces invade, to exterminate them) SROKA II has the task of coast guard during both peace and war time, and of protecting the sea lines of communications (SLOCs). Also, it is in charge of managing mobilization materiel and reserve forces.
- The Aviation Command is comprised of one aviation brigade and several battalions, and possesses various helicopters armed with rockets, TOWs, Vulcan cannons, and machine guns. It also provides fire support to task forces, and provides them with air transportation and reconnaissance missions. If necessary, it gives fire support and carries out air attack missions in the rear area. These attack and transport helicopters that could be strategically deployed to support combat operations of the infantry divisions and special forces. Some 200 McDonnell Douglas 500-MD helicopters were produced under license by Korean Air between 1976 and 1984. At least fifty of these helicopters were equipped with TOW antitank weapons. The remainder were used as transports and for other support missions. In 1990 South Korea also had about 50 McDonnell Douglas AH-1S attack helicopters and 144 McDonnell Douglas UH1B /H transport helicopters.
- The Special Warfare Command consists of several brigades, and its main tasks include collecting secret information in enemy territory, spotting ROK military firepower, and carrying out other designated tasks. The Special Warfare Command has seven brigades trained for wartime missions behind enemy lines. Although information on the organization of these units was unavailable in 1990, they probably were among the best-trained and most combat-ready forces in the army.
- Capital Defense Command (formerly the Capital Garrison Command) includes select army troops whose active duty component, really more a countercoup force than a defensive force, was a little less than a division in 1990, organized into three separate security groups or regiments. They are assigned to defend the Blue House (the presidential residence), major government and Ministry of National Defense buildings, and Kimp'o International Airport. The wartime strength of the Capital Defense Command comes from multiple division reserves, which would be mobilized during a conflict. The Capital Defense Command also is responsible for peacetime training of all Seoul area reserves.
Functional commands included the Counterespionage Operations Command, subordinate to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and responsible for interdicting North Korean saboteurs and espionage agents; the Defense Security Command, the army's internal security organization; and the Logistics Base Command, which was established to manage the movement of supplies to the frontlines.
Active-duty infantry units are organized as combined armed forces with armor and artillery forces subordinate to the division or brigade commander. The Third Army and First Army control nineteen infantry divisions and two mechanized infantry divisions. Each corps and division has its own artillery unit to provide its task forces with effective fire support. Technology has linked various firearms, target acquisition equipment and fire control systems in each artillery unit, which will make it possible for each artillery unit to provide continuous, timely fire support. In 1987 each infantry division had about 14,716 soldiers, but in terms of transportation and communications and other equipment was considered "light" by United States standards. Each infantry division had four battalions per regiment, three infantry regiments and one artillery regiment per division, a reconnaissance/ranger battalion and an armor battalion (some only had armor companies), and a reasonable facsimile of combat support and combat service support units in comparison to United States counterparts. The two mechanized infantry divisions each had three mechanized/maneuver brigade headquarters, a cavalry battalion, and a mix of nine armor and mechanized infantry battalions.
To conduct offensive maneuver warfare, the ROK military has gained offensive maneuver capability by reorganizing some of its infantry divisions into mechanized units. It has reorganized other infantry divisions as well, and increased unit force capability with new firearms to secure combat capability at the initial stage of a war. To construct a real-time integrated firepower operation system, the structure of the ground force is being reorganized systematically to enhance fire support capability, and artillery units are gradually being transformed to autonomous ones to enhance mobility and shorten operational reaction time. The computerization of fire direction systems and the utilization of long-range striking systems and target acquisition systems have also contributed to the efficiency of fire operation.
Weapons production for the army began in 1971 when the Ministry of National Defense constructed a plant to assemble United States-designed Colt M-16 rifles. The memorandum of agreement between the United States and the Republic of Korea authorized production of enough rifles to supply South Korean army units. However, the agreement prohibited the production of additional M-16s without the permission of Colt Industries and the United States government. In the mid-1970s, South Korea signed agreements to begin licensed production of many types of United States-designed weapons, including grenades, mortars, mines, and recoilless rifles, with the same stipulations as those for the M-16 rifle. South Korea also began to manufacture ammunition for the weapons it produced for the army.
By 1990 South Korean companies had army contracts to produce tanks, self-propelled and towed field guns, two types of armored vehicles, and two types of helicopters. A division of Hyundai produced the 88 Tank (formerly called the K-1 tank) at Ch'angwon. The K-1 was the result of a joint United States-South Korean design. The 88 Tank's 105mm gun was an improved version of the same caliber gun that was standard on South Korea's M-48A5 tanks. Although a few components of the tanks' fire control and transmission systems were imported, Hyundai and South Korean subcontractors manufactured most of the systems. One of the Samsung Group's businesses produced 155mm M-109 self-propelled howitzers. KIA Machine Tool was the manufacturer for the KH-178 105mm and the KH-179 155mm towed field guns. The KH-178 and KH179 guns were derived from United States-designed artillery but were considered indigenously designed. Daewoo Industries and Asia Motors had a coproduction agreement for an Italian-designed wheeled, armored personnel vehicle. Bell Helicopters Textron of the United States and Samsung coproduced UH-1 helicopters. Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, also of the United States, had a contract with Daewoo to coproduce H-76 helicopters.
Due to changes in the strategic environment as well as in the nature of future warfare, current ground force modernization is focused on reinforcing combat engineering equipment, combat service support elements, and core force capabilities such as tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery, and helicopters in order to execute three-dimensional, high-speed maneuver warfare.
Between 1980 and 1990, the army increased in size by only a small margin. During this same period, however, new units were formed; the procurement of new tanks, armored personnel carriers, field artillery, antitank guns, air defense missiles, helicopters, and other types of military equipment significantly improved the defensive capabilities of the ground forces.
In 1980 the army had approximately 1,200 United States-produced M-47 and M-48 tanks and 500 mostly United States-produced M-113 armored personnel carriers (also some Fiat 6614 wheeled armored personnel carriers). By 1990 South Korea had manufactured 200 of the domestically produced T-88 tank and had upgraded most of its M-48s to M-48A3s or M-48A5s. During the period from 1980 to 1990, the number of field artillery pieces more than doubled, going from 2,000 to 4,200 pieces, and South Korea began to introduce larger guns to extend the effective range of fire.
In 1980 the army was equipped with 57mm, 75mm, 90mm, and 106mm recoilless rifles for antitank use and TOWs. In 1990 the TOW and LAW still were the primary antitank weapons. The 106mm/90mm recoilless rifles increased in numbers and were the basic antitank system for the infantry, although lower caliber weapons still existed. The TOWs were relatively scarce and were organized into independent units separate from the infantry divisions' main organization and equipment.
To meet diverse demands made of the air mobility capability for the future battlefield, the military is introducing new models of heavily armed attack helicopters, medium- and large-sized maneuver helicopters, and small reconnaissance helicopters. At the same time, the military is reinforcing aircraft-loaded equipment that is capable of being used in nocturnal operations and for secretive infiltration, thus enhancing survivability and operational capability.
The army is responsible for the ground component of South Korea's air defense network and had two surface-to-surface missile battalions and several antiaircraft gun battalions. The surface-to-surface missile battalions were equipped with United States-produced HAWK and Nike Hercules missiles, the former having a range of 42 kilometers, the latter a range of 140 kilometers. The field armies have small quantities of three types of man-portable, shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles. These included the British-produced Javelin and the United Statesproduced Redeye missile. Additionally, there were three types of antiaircraft guns in use: the Swedish-produced Bofors L/70 40mm; the Swiss-produced Oerlikon GDF-002 35mm; and the domestically produced Vulcan 20mm.
The national air defense network comprised only 100 Vulcan antiaircraft guns and a small number of Nike-Hercules and HAWK surface-to-air missiles in 1980; by 1990 there were 600 antiaircraft guns, and the Nike Hercules and HAWKs had both increased in number and undergone significant upgrades.
Sources and Resources
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/rok/army.htm
Maintained by Steven Aftergood
Created by John Pike
Updated Sunday, July 18, 1999 5:18:02 PM
