• Strategy21
• /
• s.44
• /
• pp.352-376
• /
• 2018

Through this research, the current state of naval coordination and guidance of shipping is reviewed whereupon which a suggestion is made for a novel role which satisfies the needs of the people and the country asked of the Navy. Taking into consideration the dynamic security environment, the developing relationship between the two nations on the Korean peninsula, and the influence that the Republic of Korea has on maritime security, it is made more urgent that the Navy takes a proactive course of action in terms of naval coordination and guidance of shipping. The current form of Korean naval coordination and guidance of shipping is adapted from the logical and flexible concepts of NCAPS and NCAGS and is one of many tasks that the Republic of Korea Navy must perform. However, when the Republic of Korea Navy develops blue-water capabilities with the ambitions of protecting its people and their way of life, naval coordination and guidance of shipping could potentially become one of the primary functions of the Republic of Korea Navy that the it must champion. Already, there are indications that foreign navies are, through many developments and commitment towards naval coordination and guidance of shipping, protecting its people and states' interests wherever is necessary. In the case of Chile, its Navy has taken the helm of naval coordination and guidance of shipping and has integrated various maritime organizations including the coast guard and the National Customs Service for the sake of maintaining regional maritime security, showing immediate force if necessary. Presently, as the Republic of Korea Navy looks to be a global naval power, it is important that a reprioritization of the Navy's mission is undertaken, all the while sustaining military readiness posture on the Northern Limit Line. It cannot be any more emphasized how crucial thorough military readiness posture is as a natural stance against the enemy. That being said, contributing towards international maritime security is consistent with the nation's standing. It is a fact that maritime security has been conceptualized and developed merely as a study within the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the Republic of Korea Navy, and other governmental organizations, forces, and academia. Naval cooperation and guidance of shipping suggested by this research as a practical operational field is a concrete solution to what once was an abstract concept. To stand firm on its status as a maritime nation, the Republic of Korea must establish a Maritime Security Organization within its Navy and develop the appropriate doctrines. Attaining experts, developing doctrines, and cultivating the capability to deploy maritime forces will allow for the Republic of Korea to execute a primary role in keeping international maritime security and naval coordination and guidance of shipping. To fully achieve its latent potential necessitates the Republic of Korea Navy to expedite the introduction of naval coordination and guidance of shipping concepts and to establish the appropriate doctrines, operation plans, and organizations.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.332-339
• /
• 2024

Safety is essential for organizations operating in high-risk environments, such as the Navy. Effective safety management requires continuous improvement and supplementation, commonly achieved through the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle. Despite reinforced safety regulations and expanded education, safety accidents persist in the Navy, indicating a need to enhance the safety accident analysis and classification system. This study aims to analyze and identify the shortcomings of the current Navy safety accident classification system to establish a more effective framework. By doing so, we will be able to register the results of safety accidents, identify their root causes, and propose a 12-digit Navy safety accident classification code. This code will contribute to the development of mid- to long-term safety management policies.

• Strategy21
• /
• s.37
• /
• pp.32-64
• /
• 2015

This paper examines the types and trends of North Korea's military provocations and regional maritime threats against South Korea, and is focusing on the Republic of Korea's naval development and modernizations by the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) on future actions, what directions of the ROKN has taken thus far in response, as well as an examination of how the ROKN might respond to vulnerabilities identified throughout modern history. Importantly, this paper does not consider the domestic, bilateral, multilateral, regional and global political dimensions of the situation on the Korean Peninsula; nor does it consider the North Korea's transitional power politics, but including North Korea's nuclear program and submarine-launched ballistic missile developments, as a caveat, this paper is based on open sources in Korean and English language, and thus information concerning provocations is indicative only.

• Strategy21
• /
• s.32
• /
• pp.5-35
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this thesis is to suggest how to plan ROK(Republic of Korea) Navy's strategy concerning to JOAC(Joint Operation Access Concept) and ASB(Air-Sea Battle) concept of US(United States) armed forces. Since 2006, US armed forces has been developing CONOPS(Concepts of Operations), JOAC & ASB. These concepts will not only affect security environment for Korea Peninsula and West Pacific Area, but also will be affected to ROK Navy's Strategy. Therefore, Korea Navy has to consider and review those concepts and should discuss the way to secure peace of Korea Peninsula. JOAC & ASB have been developed for securing operational access ability of US armed forces against enemy forces. A2/AD(Anti-Access, Area-Denial) is the strategy of possible enemy forces against US forces' approaching into the operation area and impede operations within area. US forces had to overcome enemy's A2/AD strategy in coming century to protect national interest and sustain global leadership. The main concept of JOAC & ASB is "Cross-domain Synergy", which means 'to eliminate duplicate and improve joint operability containing space and cyber operation area.' Korea Navy's acceptance of JOAC & ASB without any revising is not a rational choice. Without the amendment some problems can be occurred by the Korea navy's acceptance for the original version of JOAC & ASB. Those are "Missing differences of operation environment between Korea and US", "Impediment from neighbor nations, especially PRC (People's Republic of China)", and "Impediment inside from Korea armed forces". Therefore, Korea Navy has to evaluate and find out the way to solve for JOAC & ASB to apply for their strategy and minimise those possible problems above. This thesis is expected to be the solution.

• Strategy21
• /
• s.39
• /
• pp.163-197
• /
• 2016

The completion of Jeju Naval Base on February 2016 made the Republic of Korea Navy(ROKN) review the size and role of the Maritime Task Flotilla(MTF). The new strategic environment for the 12st century and the new challenges require the Navy to counter North Korea's provocations and prevent potential enemy's threat. The Navy is also required to take part in the variety of international roles and missions commensurated with Korea's global status to maximize the national interest. Despite these changes, Korea's military construction concept is still unable to break away from the old paradigm of the North Korean threat largely centered. In order to develop the current MTF into the Task Group with the construction of Jeju Naval Base, the Navy must newly not only establish new force development plan and fleet management concepts but also go to persuade and convince policy decision makers. To this end, the following efforts should be promoted. First, the ROK Navy steps up efforts in order to share with the Task Group's vision and strategy. The Navy should also provide the size and structure as well as the missions and roles of the Task Group to react to new maritime security environment. Second, the Navy analyse the MTF's ability and what is required and necessary to perform its duty. After that, it must set out the direction of the Task Group's force development. Third, the current missions and roles of the MTF should be re-established to respond various threats. Finally, accommodating of new technology to the MTF should intensify its strengths. The ROK Navy has a mixed force structure consisting of three fixed- base fleets and a MTF. The fixed base fleet has a passive force to defend and protect its own sea areas, but the MTF should actively not only counter North Korea's threats, including ballistic missiles, but also fight potential threats and takes international missions as a primary task force. However, the MTF has a limited capability to accomplish given missions and long-range operations, and thus, the ROK Navy is strongly required to construct the Task Group.

• Strategy21
• /
• s.43
• /
• pp.201-224
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study is to analyze the causes of a series of naval ship collisions in the United States 7 Fleet and diagnose the problems of the Republic of Korea Navy(ROKN). The ROKN should thoroughly analyze the lessons of the U.S. Navy's collisions and try to avoid the same cases in the future. In chapter 2, this article briefly explains how the USS Fitzgerald(DDG62) and USS John S. McCain(DDG56) have a collision with the civilian vessels. This paper uses three official documents published by the U.S. Navy in 2017 to get details of incidents. In chapter 3, this paper analyzes the cause of the two incidents. According to the official reports, two aegis ships have complex problems. First, executives significantly lacked the seamanship and qualification. Second, there were no organizational culture and teamwork to form the right decisions. Also, there was a structural problem inside the 7 Fleet itself. In chapter 4 and 5, this study applies some lessons to the ROKN. Especially, this chapter suggests policy recommendations to prevent the similar incidents from occurring in the ROKN. The ROKN should be aware of the possibility that the sorts of incident could occur any time.

• Strategy21
• /
• s.31
• /
• pp.85-119
• /
• 2013

This paper asks whether the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy should continue to focus on building ocean-going naval ships when it faces the threats of North Korean provocations in littoral areas. My position is that the ROK Navy should keep pursuing ocean-going capabilities. I provide explanations why it should do so from the perspectives of three important dimensions: capability, doctrine, and organizational identity. First, I argue that the distinction between a littoral navy and an ocean-going navy is an unnecessary dichotomy. It may lead to inefficiency in national security. The military posture should be designed in a way that it can address all external threats to national security regardless of whether they are from North Korea or not. Such capability is the one that the ROK Navy has tried to acquire with the 'Blue Water Navy' initiative since the 1990s. Second, also from the perspective of lately developed military doctrines that emphasize jointness and precision strike capability, ocean-going capabilities such as the mobile task fleet program have become a must, not an option, given today's security situations on and around the Korean peninsula. Lastly, I draw attention to the fact that the 'Blue Water Navy (BWN)' initiative meant more than just capability to the ROK navy. The BWN represents the ROK navy's organizational identity that the navy has defined since the 1980s as it emphasized promoting national interest and international standing as part of its organizational essence. Furthermore, the phrase 'blue water navy' took on symbolic meanings to the people that are associated with South Korean-ness including sovereignty, national pride, standing in the world and hopes for the future. Since 1990s, many scholars and experts have made the case for the necessity of improving South Korea's naval capability based on different rationales. They emphasized the protection of Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs), the economic value of the sea, the potential danger associated with territorial disputes over islands, and increasing naval power of neighboring countries since the end of the Cold War. This paper adds to this debate by trying to explain the matter with different factors including naval doctrines and organizational identity. Particularly, this paper constitutes a unique endeavor in that it incorporating constructivist elements (that is, identity politics) in explaining a national security matter.

• Strategy21
• /
• s.43
• /
• pp.57-88
• /
• 2018

Security situations are fundamentally and rapidly changing on the Korean Peninsula. Above all, as North Korea(NK) is heightening its nuclear and missile capabilities, Republic of Korea(ROK) is facing an existential threat. At the same time, as China's economic, diplomatic and military power is quickly rising, the balance of power is shifting and strategic competition between the Unite States(US) and China is accelerating in the Asia-Pacific region. Under the pressure of development of these situations, ROK seems to face allegedly the most serious crisis in its national security since the end of the Korean War. In the current grim geopolitical situation, maritime security may become the most difficult security challenge for ROK in the years to come. The purpose of this paper is to compare major changes in maritime security affairs of the ROK during last twenty years from 1998 until now(2018). 1998 was when this journal 『Strategy 21』 was published for the first time by the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy. Then, this paper tries to identify challenges and risks with which this country has to deal for its survival and prosperity, and to propose some recommendations for the government, the Navy, and the Coast Guard as they are responsible for the maritime security of the country. The recommendations of this paper are as follows: strengthen ROK-US alliance and expand security cooperation with regional powers in support of the maintenance of the current security order in the region; building-up of maritime security capacity in preparation for crisis on the maritime domain with the navy targeting to acquire 'a non-nuclear, balance-of-terror capability, to improve interoperability with the Coast Guard based on 'a national fleet,' and to actively pursue innovation in naval science and technology. Finally, this paper proposes that naval capability the country needs in another twenty years depends on how effectively and rigorously the navy put its utmost efforts towards building 'a strongest navy' today.

• Strategy21
• /
• s.30
• /
• pp.31-62
• /
• 2012

It is a commons sense that the Republic of Korea is a maritime state that depends its survival on International Trade and International Economy. Korea was a peninsula and do it can be both maritime and continental state by its choice. However, after the national division in 1945, South Korea had became a virtual island and pursue a maritime way for national development in the past 60 plus years. Now, South Korea is becoming a world's 12 th largest major trading and maritime state. South Korea has far more ships per capita than any other nations in the world and its economy is heavily depend upon the imports and exports with other nations in the world that pass through the oceans. Therefore, the Koreans regard the security of the sea lanes of communication as vital to the survival of the nation. The SLOC is the life line for Republic of Korea. Since the early 1990s, immediately after the Cold War was over, South Koreans began to recognize the importance of Sea Routes and thus began to build a navy that can handle with the new problems of the post Cold War era. However, the maritime security environments of the Republic of Korea today is shaky and dangerous. Almost every water near the Korean peninsula, some kind of international confrontations are going on. Territorial disputes on Dok do, Senkaku, Scarbrough, Shisha, Nansha and Eodo between and among Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Phillipines, Indonesia and Vietnam are the examples. In this essay, the author argues that the S. Korean efforts and capabilities to deal with these challenges are not enough and exhorts more efforts and more powerful navy for the Korean people.

• Strategy21
• /
• s.34
• /
• pp.149-177
• /
• 2014

Today distant oceans around the world are regarded as a major 'global commons' for international trade and transportation. Korea is not an exception, because Korea hugely depends on sea lines of communication (SLOC) for supplying vital commodities such as food and energy resource. As a result, assuring a free and safe use of distant ocean beyond territory is also an important agenda for Korea's maritime security. However there are a number of challenges for Korea to enjoy a free and safe use of distant ocean; dangers of regional maritime conflict in East Asia, naval arms race of China and Japan, and concerns on possible decline of U.S naval presence and power projection capabilities. These factors provide a reasonable basis for Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) to pursue capabilities for major naval operations at distant ocean in a long-term perspective toward the year 2030. The introduction of aircraft carrier and nuclear-powered submarine is a key requirement for achieving this goal. ROKN needs to acquire a 'multi-role strategic landing platform' type of light aircraft carrier, which takes a role to escort naval task force by providing air superiority at distant ocean. Additionally nuclear-powered submarine will offer ROKN a formidable power to carry out offensive missions effectively at distant ocean.