The operational control of the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions, which had been under the Army, will be returned to the Marine Corps after 50 years. In addition, the Ministry of National Defense is considering the establishment of a Marine Corps Operations Command, and plans to grant the Commandant of the Marine Corps command and supervisory authority equivalent to that of the Army, Navy, and Air Force Chiefs of Staff.
On the 26th, Defense Minister An Kyu-baek visited the Marine Corps Education and Training Group to encourage the 1,324th batch of Marines who completed the new recruit extreme endurance week training. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
On the afternoon of December 31, Defense Minister An Kyubaek held a press conference at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Yongsan, where he explained the plan for "reorganizing the Marine Corps into a quasi-four-branch system," which includes these measures. This was also a campaign pledge of President Lee Jaemyung.
Minister An stated, "We will return the operational control of the Marine Corps' main units, the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions, to the Marine Corps after 50 years." He added, "The operational control of the 1st Marine Division, which is currently under the operational control of the Army's 2nd Operations Command, will be restored to the Marine Corps by the end of 2026 as a first step." He continued, "The operational control of the 2nd Marine Division, currently under the Army Capital Corps, will also be returned to the Marine Corps by 2028, so that the Marine Corps can fully exercise operational control over its subordinate units." He also mentioned that the promotion of Marine Corps officers to the rank of general is under consideration.
The Ministry plans to establish a separate Operations Command within the Marine Corps and refine the command structure and organizational system so that the Marine Corps can have status and influence equivalent to the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Minister An said, "We will ensure that the Marine Corps has a command structure, staff organization, equipment, and weapons systems appropriate for a quasi-four-branch system." He continued, "The future structure of the Marine Corps will be specified in the National Armed Forces Organization Act, and the missions the Marine Corps will perform as a national strategic mobile force, such as amphibious operations and island defense, will be defined by law. We will also promote the strengthening of Marine Corps capabilities as soon as possible to support this." He concluded, "We will do our utmost to ensure that the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, as a joint force, demonstrate the highest capabilities, create synergy, firmly defend the Republic of Korea, and become a trusted, advanced military force in the eyes of the public."
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