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.
Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin class destroyers are multipurpose destroyers of the Republic of Korea Navy. The lead ship of this class, ROKS Chungmugong Yi Sunsin, was launched in May 2002 and commissioned in December 2003. Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class destroyers were the second class of ships to be produced in the Republic of Korea Navy's destroyer mass-production program named Korean Destroyer eXperimental, which paved the way for the navy to become a blue-water navy. Six ships were launched by Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in four years.
The Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyers, often called KDX-I, are destroyers, but are classified by some as frigates, operated by the Republic of Korea Navy. It was the first phase of ROKN's KDX program, in moving the ROK Navy from a coastal defence force to a blue-water navy.
ROKS Dokdo (LPH-6111) is the lead ship of the Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship of the Republic of Korea Navy, launched on 12 July 2005 at the shipyard of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Constructions Co. in Busan. ROKS Dokdo was the flagship of the Fifth Component Flotilla of the Korean Navy until the launch of ROKS Marado in 2018. Previously, this title was held by the 9,000-ton at-sea Underway Replenishment (UNREP) support vessel ROKS Cheonji.
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.
The Daegu-class frigate is a class of guided missile frigates of the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN). The Daegu class is based on the preceding Incheon class, and has otherwise been referred to as the Incheon class batch II, or FFG-II. Eight Daegu-class ships are planned, with the final goal of 20–22 frigates in the ROKN. The Daegu-class frigates are to be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) and Hyundai Heavy Industries.
The KSS-III or Dosan Ahn Changho-class is a series of diesel-electric attack submarines currently being built for the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN), jointly by Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI). The KSS-III is the final phase of the Korean Attack Submarine program, a three-phased program to build 27 attack submarines for the ROKN, between 1994–2029.
ROKS Marado (LPH-6112) is the second ship of the Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship of the Republic of Korea Navy.
ROKS Sejong the Great (DDG-991) is the lead ship of her class of guided missile destroyer built for the Republic of Korea Navy. She was the first Aegis-built destroyer of the service and was named after the fourth king of the Joseon dynasty of Korea, Sejong the Great.
ROKS Yulgok Yi I (DDG-992) is the second ship of the Sejong the Great-class destroyers that was built for the Republic of Korea Navy. She was designed around the Aegis Combat System and was named after philosopher and scholar of the Joseon Dynasty, Yulgok Yi I.
ROKS Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong is the third ship of the Sejong the Great-class destroyers built for the Republic of Korean Navy. She was the third Aegis-built ship of the service and was named after a scholar-official of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong.
ROKS Wang Geon (DDH-978) is a Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class destroyer in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after Wang Geon.
ROKS Soyang (AOE-51) is a fast combat support ship of the Republic of Korea Navy; she is named after the Soyang River.
ROKS Seoul (FFG-821) is the third ship of the Daegu-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the capital, Seoul.
ROKS Donghae (FFG-822) is the fourth ship of the Daegu-class frigate in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the city, Donghae.
ROKS Cheonji (AOE-57) is the lead ship of the Cheonji-class fast combat support ship (AOE) in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the lake, Cheonji.
ROKS Shin Dol-seok (SS-082) is the ninth boat of the Sohn Won-yil-class submarine in the Republic of Korea Navy. She is named after the general, Shin Dol-seok.
South Korea
