South Korea to return Marines’ divisional control, form ops command
Maj. Gen. Lee Ho-jong (R), commander of the South Korean Marine Corps’ 1st Division, and Maj. Gen. Valerie Jackson, commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Korea, raise their fists in a show of solidarity as South Korea and the United States conduct combined drills on the coast of Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, southeastern South Korea, 06 August 2025. File Photo by YONHAP/EPA
Dec. 31 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s Marine Corps will regain operational control of its 1st and 2nd divisions from the Army for the first time in 50 years under a Defense Ministry plan that would expand Marine Corps command authority and move toward what officials called a quasi-fourth-service structure.
Defense Minister Ahn Kyu-baek announced the reorganization plan Wednesday at a news conference at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul. The plan keeps the Marine Corps under the Navy while strengthening the authority of the Marine Corps commandant to a level comparable to the Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs of staff, the ministry said.
Ahn said the overhaul is intended to “institutionally guarantee the independence and professionalism of the Marine Corps,” adding that the ministry will gradually return operational control of the 1st and 2nd Marine divisions to the service.
Under the plan, the 1st Marine Division will be removed from the Army’s 2nd Operations Command, with peacetime and wartime operational control returning to the Marine Corps by the end of 2026. The 2nd Marine Division would regain peacetime operational control by 2028, while wartime operational control would remain with the Capital Defense Command.
Ahn said the wartime control issue for the 2nd Marine Division will be reviewed over the medium to long term as the military evaluates restructuring and changes in capability, manpower and unit organization.
The ministry also said it is reviewing steps to expand promotion opportunities for Marine Corps officers to general-level posts. Rather than elevating the commandant position to full general, the ministry is considering allowing Marine officers to move into positions such as deputy commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command or vice chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after completing a term as commandant.
The plan also includes establishing a separate Marine Corps Operations Command, a structure the service has not previously had. The ministry said it is considering upgrading the Northwest Islands Defense Command into a Marine Corps Operations Command aligned with the return of divisional operational control.
A three-star general is a leading candidate rank for the operations commander role, which would give the Marine Corps two three-star posts: the commandant and the operations commander. The commandant would handle administrative and logistics duties, while the operations commander would oversee operations and intelligence, the ministry said.
Ahn said Marine Corps personnel account for 5.7% of the total military but that the service has relatively few general officers. He said the ministry will seek to secure the Marine Corps share by adjusting general officer positions in units directly under the ministry rather than increasing the overall military quota.
The Defense Ministry said it will also accelerate capability upgrades for the Marine Corps, noting budgets have been allocated for 10 areas including firepower, protection and detection radar. It said it will expand placement of Marine personnel in higher-level units such as the Joint Chiefs of Staff and rename the Marine headquarters building to strengthen its symbolic significance.
Ahn said the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps will operate as a joint force to build what he called a trusted advanced military.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.