The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; Korean: 대한민국 해군; Hanja: 大韓民國海軍), also known as the ROK Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The South Korean navy includes the Republic of Korea Marine Corps, which functions as a branch of the Navy. The ROK Navy has about 80,000 regular personnel including 30,000 Republic of Korea Marines. There are about 262 commissioned ships in the ROK Navy. The naval aviation force consists of about 88 fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. The ROK Marine Corps has about 300 tracked vehicles including assault amphibious vehicles.
The Republic of Korea Navy was established as the Marine Defense Group on November 11, 1945, after Korea was liberated from the Empire of Japan on August 15, 1945. Since the Korean War, the South Korean navy had concentrated its efforts on building naval forces to counteract hostilities of North Korea. As South Korea's economy grew, the ROK Navy was able to locally build larger and better equipped fleets to deter aggression, to protect the sea lines of communication, and to support the nation's foreign policy. As part of its mission, the ROK Navy has engaged in several peacekeeping operations since the turn of the 21st century. The ROK Navy aims to become a blue-water navy in the 2020s.
