Republic of Korea Armed Forces

Combined military forces of South Korea

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May 10 2025 Lee Jae-myung officially begins his presidential term, leading South Korea into a new phase of the Sixth Republic.
April 4 2025 The Constitutional Court unanimously upheld Yoon's impeachment in an 8-0 verdict, formally removing him from office and setting the stage for a new Presidential election.
March 6 2025 A KF-16 fighter accidentally released eight bombs over Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, resulting in 15 people injured and damage to buildings and vehicles, highlighting a serious military incident.
2025 South Korea aims to develop turbofan engines for installation in high-performance unmanned aerial vehicles.
February 1 2025 Task Fleet was reorganized from Maritime Task Flotilla Seven, headquartered at Jeju Naval Base.
December 29 2024 A Jeju Air plane crash at Muan International Airport killed 179 people, becoming the deadliest air disaster in South Korea's history.
December 14 2024 Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly and suspended from office, pending a final ruling by the Constitutional Court on his potential removal from the presidency.
December 3 2024 President Yoon enacted martial law to 'rid the opposition of Anti-State Influence', which was quickly challenged and subsequently lifted after hours of unrest and protests.
June 2024 South Korea suspended the 2018 military agreement with North Korea.
June 7 2024 The ROKAF retired its F-4E Phantom II fighter jets from the 10th Fighter Wing based in Suwon, signaling a modernization of the air force's aircraft fleet.
April 10 2024 In the 22nd National Assembly election, the People Power Party (Yoon Suk Yeol's party) won 108 out of 300 seats, while the opposition Democratic Party of Korea won 175 seats.
2023 Military parade was held ahead of Armed Forces Day, marking the return to a yearly parade tradition.
2023 Ongoing record of salary rates for different ranks in the South Korean military conscription system.
2023 Esports players became eligible for military service exemptions after becoming a medal event at the 2022 Asian Games, with the national esports team's gold medal-winning roster being the first to receive exemptions.
2023 Military spending increases to 57.01 trillion KRW, stabilizing at 2.54% of GDP and representing 12.8% of government budget, with a 4.4% year-on-year increase.
2023 Planned deployment of the first four batteries of the L-SAM missile system following the project's completion in 2022.
December 2023 DAPA selected the Embraer C-390 Millennium as the winner of the Large Transport Aircraft (LTA) II tender, with plans to introduce three units by 2026.
November 21 2023 The Republic of Korea Marine Corps conducted first major exercises in 5 years in Pohang, involving 3,400 marines, over 30 amphibious assault vehicles, and 10 Navy ships. The exercises focused on practicing amphibious landings in the coastal zone, utilizing amphibious ships, transport aircraft, and helicopters, with Navy ships and attack helicopters providing tactical cover for the troops.
October 22 2023 The Republic of Korea Air Force conducted its first-ever trilateral military exercise with the United States and Japanese air forces near the Korean Peninsula, demonstrating increased regional military cooperation.
June 28 2023 The 'Unification Act on the Calculation of Age' took effect, resolving social and administrative confusion about age calculation methods, fulfilling one of President Yoon Suk Yeol's key election pledges.
April 2023 ROKAF, DAPA, and KIDA continued assessment of aircraft manufacturers for Large Transport Aircraft procurement.
March 2023 ROKAF, DAPA, and KIDA began assessment of transport aircraft manufacturers Airbus, Embraer, and Lockheed Martin for the Large Transport Aircraft (LTA) II project.
2022 Continued tracking of military compensation for conscripted soldiers in South Korea.
2022 Defense budget reaches 54.61 trillion KRW, marginally declining to 2.53% of GDP and dropping to 13.0% of government budget, with a slower 3.4% growth rate.
2022 South Korea announced a reduction in mandatory military service duration across all service branches, shortening service to 18-22 months for conscripts.
2022 Planned reduction of active duty personnel from 640,000 to 517,000, and shortening of compulsory military service to 18-22 months under 'Defense Reform 2.0'.
2022 Planned reduction of military leadership, reducing the number of generals and admirals from 436 to 360, cutting 66 general-level positions in the Army and five each in the Navy and Air Force.
2022 Reported personnel strength of 3,600,000, including 500,000 active and 3,100,000 reserve military personnel.
2022 ROK Navy upgraded Air Wing Six to the Naval Air Command.
2022 Scheduled completion of the L-SAM (Cheolmae-4) long-range surface-to-air missile development project, with nearly $1 billion invested in the project.
2022 Scheduled deployment of seven M-SAM Block II missile defense batteries throughout South Korea, enhancing the nation's air defense infrastructure.
December 27 2022 North Korea sent five drones over the border, with one reaching Seoul. South Korean fighter jets and attack helicopters chased the drones for five hours, firing around 100 rounds. A KAI KT-1 Woongbi aircraft crashed during the incident, though both crew members survived.
November 2022 CFC relocated its headquarters from Yongsan Garrison in Seoul to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Korea.
October 29 2022 At least 153 people were crushed to death during Halloween festivities in Seoul's Itaewon district, leading President Yoon to declare a state of official national mourning.
October 17 2022 Big Hit Music announced that Jin from BTS would withdraw his enlistment deferral request and be the first in the group to enter mandatory military service.
May 17 2022 Defense Acquisition Program Administration ordered 40 Bell 505 helicopters for basic training, with delivery starting from 2025, to be used by both ROK Navy and ROK Army.
May 10 2022 Moon Jae-in was succeeded by Yoon Suk-yeol after the 2022 South Korean presidential election.
May 9 2022 Moon Jae-in completed his presidential term.
March 9 2022 Lee Jae-myung is elected as the President of South Korea, representing the Democratic Party of Korea.
2021 South Korea again recorded the lowest fertility rate globally, prompting discussions about potential changes to military conscription standards.
2021 Continuation of salary documentation for conscripted military personnel across various ranks.
2021 Military service reserve training period reduced from 6 years to 5 years for conscripts after completing active duty service.
2021 Military budget rises to 52.84 trillion KRW, slightly decreasing to 2.55% of GDP but still representing 13.9% of government expenditure, with a 5.4% increase.
2021 South Korea ranked 9th globally in defense spending, with a budget of nearly $46.7 billion U.S. dollars.
2021 Full operational capability planned for the ROK military's independent command structure.
2021 The Space Operations Center was established at the Air Force Headquarters, marking a significant expansion of the Republic of Korea Air Force's technological capabilities.
June 2021 A military equipment inspection reveals that 26% of components in the Warrior Platform infantry modernization program are defective.
April 2021 South Korea ratified the Forced Labour Convention while maintaining its existing conscription system, specifically addressing the status of individuals with disabilities in military service.
2020 South Korea recorded the lowest fertility rate in the world, raising concerns about future military conscription capacity.
2020 Ongoing maintenance of military salary structures during the conscription period.

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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Republic of Korea Air Force, Armed Forces Day (South Korea), ROK/US Combined Forces Command, Republic of Korea Marine Corps, Republic of Korea Armed Forces, Conscription in South Korea, History of South Korea, Republic of Korea Navy & Republic of Korea Army, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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