Yoo Yongwon: "Marine Corps Lags 10 Years Behind Army in Essential Capabilities... Reinforcement Must Be Prioritized"

National Assembly Defense Committee Audit of the Navy and Marine Corps

An analysis has suggested that the Marine Corps is up to 10 years behind the Army in securing essential military capabilities. As the defense of the northwestern islands is not merely a matter of regional security but the front line of national strategy, there are growing calls for urgent reinforcement of the Marine Corps' core assets.

On October 23, Assemblyman Yoo Yongwon of the National Defense Committee stated during a parliamentary audit, "The Marine Corps, despite being our military’s only dedicated amphibious and island operations unit and the front-line force for defending the northwestern islands, lags behind the Army by three to as many as ten years or more in terms of force reinforcement."

Assemblyman Yoo continued, "The Army has already deployed essential assets such as K2 tanks, 30mm wheeled anti-aircraft guns, local air defense radars, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the northwestern islands, and is utilizing them in training. However, the Marine Corps is struggling to even conduct proper training due to a lack of equipment. This is not simply a budget issue, but stems from a structural limitation in which the military’s internal prioritization of capabilities remains centered on the Army."

He further emphasized, "The northwestern islands are the area most likely to face North Korean provocations at the outset of a full-scale war, so any capability gap in the Marine Corps could become a critical vulnerability in national defense. Equipment such as K2 tanks, wheeled anti-aircraft guns, air defense radars, and UAVs are not just a matter of hardware differences-they are directly tied to combat effectiveness and troop survivability. Considering the operational environment of the northwestern islands, reinforcing the Marine Corps must be the top priority."

Assemblyman Yoo added, "Major reinforcement projects for the Marine Corps are consistently pushed to the back of the line and remain subordinate to projects for other branches, resulting in repeated disadvantages in budget allocation. The Ministry of National Defense must review the force modernization schedule for each project, taking into account the unique operational characteristics of the Marine Corps and its island defense mission."