The Republic of Korea Navy, also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy includes the Republic of Korea Marine Corps, which functions as a branch of the Navy. The ROK Navy has about 70,000 regular personnel including 29,000 Republic of Korea Marines. There are about 140 commissioned ships in the ROK Navy. The naval aviation force consists of about 70 fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. The ROK Marine Corps has about 300 tracked vehicles including assault amphibious vehicles.
The Republic of Korea Navy was founded on November 11, 1945 as Marine Defense Group after Korea was liberated from the Empire of Japan. The ROK Navy is the oldest service within the ROK Armed Forces. In 2015, the South Korean navy celebrated its 70th anniversary.
The Ulsan-class frigate is the high-end complement of the high-low mix domestic naval construction plan of the Republic of Korea Navy under the 1st Yulgok Project (1974–1986) for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.
The Incheon-class frigates, also known as the Future Frigate eXperimental or FFX during development, are coastal defense frigates of the Republic of Korea Navy. The lead ship was launched on 29 April 2011. The Incheon-class frigates will replace the aging fleet of Pohang-class corvettes and Ulsan-class frigates, and take over multi-role operations such as coast patrol, anti-submarine warfare and transport support. Later batches are planned to be specialized on anti-air and anti-submarine warfare. An improved version is being introduced as the Daegu-class frigate; this was previously known as Batch II of the Incheon class.
ROKS Incheon (FFG-811) is the lead ship of the Incheon-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the city, Incheon.
ROKS Gyeonggi (FFG-812) is the second ship of the Incheon-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the province, Gyeonggi.
ROKS Jeonbuk (FFG-813) is the third ship of the Incheon-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the province, Jeonbuk.
ROKS Gangwon (FFG-815) is the fourth frigate of the Incheon-class in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the province of Gangwon.
ROKS Chungbuk (FFG-816) is the fifth ship of the Incheon-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the province, Chungbuk.
ROKS Gwangju (FFG-817) is the sixth ship of the Incheon-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the city, Gwangju.
ROKS Ulsan (FF-951) is the lead ship of the Ulsan-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the city, Ulsan.
ROKS Cheongju (FF-961) is the ninth ship of the Ulsan-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the city, Cheongju.
ROKS Seoul (FF-952) is the second ship of the Ulsan-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the city, Seoul.
ROKS Masan (FF-955) is the fourth ship of the Ulsan-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the city, Masan.
ROKS Jeonnam (FF-957) is the sixth ship of the Ulsan-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the province, Jeonnam.
ROKS Jeju (FF-958) is the seventh ship of the Ulsan-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the island, Jeju.
ROKS Busan (FF-959) is the eighth ship of the Ulsan-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the city, Busan.
ROKS Gyeongbuk (FF-956) is the fifth ship of the Ulsan-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the province, Gyeongbuk.
ROKS Jinhae (PCC-766) was a Pohang-class corvette of the Republic of Korea Navy.
ROKS Chungnam is the name of three Republic of Korea Navy warships:
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