Republic of Korea Navy
Armed ForcesNorth Chungcheong, South Korea501-1000 Employees
The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) is the naval arm of South Korea's armed forces, tasked with conducting sea operations and amphibious landings. It includes the Republic of Korea Marine Corps as a quasi-autonomous component and traces its origins to 1945, making it the oldest branch of the Korean military. Its mission centers on deterring aggression, safeguarding national maritime rights, and supporting the country's foreign policy, with a history of peacekeeping engagements since the turn of the 21st century. Based in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea, the service maintains a sizable force and a fleet that includes commissioned ships, submarines, surface combatants, amphibious vessels, mine warfare ships, and an aviation component. As of 2015, the ROKN employed around 70,000 regular personnel, including roughly 29,000 marines, and operated about 130 commissioned ships. In 2026, reports indicated plans to expand naval aviation capacity with up to 24 MH-60R helicopters as part of ongoing modernization.