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This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ The creation of the modern Republic of Korea Navy Bowers, Ian Awarding institution: King's College London The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. 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THE CREATION OF THE MODERN REPUBLIC OF KOREA NAVY IAN BOWERS DEPARTMENT OF WAR STUDIES KING’S COLLEGE LONDON SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2013 1 ABSTRACT The modernisation of the Republic of Korea Navy from the election of Kim, Young-sam in 1993 to the sinking of the Cheonan has been remarkable in that it is a microcosm of the security dilemma that the ROK faces; how to deal with the threat from the DPRK while developing a defence capability that is commensurate with a middle power with global interests. This thesis examines said modernisation both through an analysis of the force development program and its driving factors. Its original contribution is in its use of previously unavailable sources and author conducted interviews to demonstrate for the first time that ROKN modernisation in its nature, drivers and hindrances is a synthesis of a multitude of factors both internal and external. While much focus has been on the developing regional capability that the ROKN has pursued, this thesis demonstrates that regional capability is part of a wider force improvement program which encompasses C4ISR, strike and power projection capabilities aimed at meeting all of the threats both current and future that the ROK perceives. What has driven such modernisation is a focal point of the thesis, demonstrating that while the East Asian maritime security environment and the development of the Korean People’s Navy has played an important role, the decision to construct a more powerful navy is ultimately an expression of the ROK’s political and economic development. This thesis concludes however with the caveat that force modernisation is ultimately dependent on political support and incidents such as the sinking of the Cheonan have a large bearing on the nature and extent of naval modernisation. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements List of Tables and Figures Abbreviations Maps Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION I.I Introduction 19 I.II Background of the Study 21 1. Asian Oceans: Naval and Maritime Growth 22 2. The ROKN and Reform 25 I.III Terminology 34 I.III Structure of the Thesis 37 Chapter 2. LITERATURE REVIEW II.I Introduction 42 II.II The ROKN and Recent Literature 44 II.III Naval Development and the Northeast Asian Region 46 II.IV ROK Thematic Literature 51 1) Japan and the PRC 52 2) SLOC Protection 56 3) The DPRK 58 4) The Defence Industry and the US Alliance 60 5) Internal Political Factors 65 II.V Conclusion 68 Chapter 3. The ROK and the East Asia Maritime Environment: Opportunities and Threats III.I Introduction 70 III.II The Asian Maritime Region 71 1) Disputed Territory, Sovereignty and Military Build-ups: Issues for Asia 74 III.III The ROK and the Maritime Sphere 85 III.IV Security Issues and Perceptions 90 1) Assessing the Threat and Operational Priorities 91 2) The DPRK: A Traditional Yet Evolving View 98 3) The ROK and Korean Waters 105 4) SLOC Protection and Island Disputes 114 III.V Conclusion 124 Chapter 4. The ROKN: Force Modernisation and Structure IV.I Introduction 129 IV.II Force Improvement 132 IV.III Organisational Structure 147 IV.IV Strategic Mobile Component: A Move Towards Blue Water Operations? 154 IV.V Mission and Doctrine Development 162 3 IV.VI Moving from the Present to the Future 177 Chapter 5. The US-ROK Alliance V.I Introduction 180 V.II Post Korean War – The Role of the US and ROK Strategy 182 V.III Yulgok: The Change in Relationship 189 1) The Yulgok Program 193 2) Budget and Finance 195 3) The ROKN & the Yulgok Program 197 V.IV Post Yulgok and a Change in Relationship 205 1) OPCON Transfer 205 2) The Status of US Forces 209 3) The Future of the Alliance: Shifting Priorities and a move away from the peninsula 212 4) ROK Modernisation: The US and Budgets 214 V.V THE ROKN and the US Alliance 223 V.VI Conclusion: Looking to the Future 231 Chapter 6. THE ROKN and a Naval Identity VI.I Introduction 233 VI.II History and Identity: A Place for the ROKN 237 1) The Use of History 240 2) The ROKN and Ship Names 245 VI.III Public Presentation 252 VI.IV Entering the Political Arena 255 VI.V Conclusion: The Challenges and Failures 265 Chapter 7. Politics and Naval Modernisation VII.I Introduction 269 VII.II Kim, Young-sam (1993-1998): De-politicisation and a New Direction 272 VII.III Kim, Dae-jung (1998-2003): Conceptual and Concrete Development 280 VII.IV Roh, Moo-hyun (2003-2008): An Independent Defence Posture 391 VII.V Lee, Myung-bak (2008-2013): Looking Toward the North 301 VII.VI Politics , Security and the Sinking of the Cheonan 306 Chapter 8: Conclusion 310 Bibliography 329 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Andrew Lambert for his invaluable guidance and advice during the completion of this thesis. His insight, knowledge and manner gave me increasing confidence over the course of my studies and for his reading of my drafts with their innumerable typos and errors I will be eternally grateful. I would also like to thank my second supervisor, Dr Alessio Patalano who provided me with many opportunities to expand my academic experience and whose advice over the past three years has been much appreciated. My gratitude must also be extended to Mr Mingi Hyun who went above and beyond in assisting me in South Korea. His introductions and knowledge made my field work much easier and for this I will always be grateful. I would like to thank the former ROKN Chief of Naval Operations Admiral An, Byeong-tae for giving me his time and unique insights. Also, Admiral Song, Keun-ho and all the staff at the Korean Institute for Maritime Strategy who kindly allowed me access to their library, gave me a place to work and answered all of my many questions. I must also thank Captain Chung, Sam-man for providing me with materials which have been very useful in the completion of this thesis. I would also like to thank my fellow PhD students at the War Studies Department who have helped me enormously with their advice and good humour. Finally I would like to thank my family. The undertaking of this project would not have been possible without the lasting and unconditional love and support of my Parents and Sister. I would be remiss in not thanking my Korean Family who have supported, housed and fed me during my trips to Seoul, my appreciation for their efforts in helping me cannot be put into words. Lastly and most importantly I must thank my wife Soon-kyun, her love, support and 5 willingness to endure a PhD student’s mood swings have made the last three years much easier and without her sacrifices and encouragement this project would never started.