“Restoring Public Trust Marks the Starting Point of Defense Reform”

Minister Ahn Gyu-back receives briefings from the ROK Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.

Stresses that both peace and dialogue must be grounded in overwhelming strength.

Underscores military restructuring as an essential task, calling for a unified "one-team" approach.

Calls for thorough preparations for the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines and the development of 500,000 drone warriors.

Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-back, center, delivers remarks during a business briefing with the ROK Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps at Gyeryongdae on Jan. 19.

Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-back unequivocally stated to the ROK Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps on January 19 that "a military lacking the trust of the people is merely a castle built on sand," emphasizing that restoring public trust is the starting point of defense reform.

Minister Ahn underscored this point during the Briefings by the ROK Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps held at Gyeryongdae that day, citing the Analects of Confucius: "Without the trust of the people, the state cannot stand." Furthermore, he urged each service to establish a firm military readiness posture essential for fulfilling their role as peacemakers, stating that "both peace and dialogue must be based on overwhelming strength."

Specifically regarding the introduction of nuclear submarines, Minister Ahn instructed the ROK Navy: "As the Navy stands at the center of this national strategic project, we must prepare the necessary requirements for operation with utmost dedication." He informed the Marine Corps that they have "taken the first step toward a quasi-four-branch military system," and commanded them to "keep in mind the pledge to prove yourselves before the people, staking the honor of the eight-cornered cap built by your preceding Marines."

He instructed the swift cooperation of each military branch regarding the Military Structure Reform toward 2040, which is designed to address future environmental changes such as the demographic cliff impacting our military.

Minister Ahn asserted that "military structure reform is not an option but a mandatory task," emphasizing that the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps must, without distinction, pool their wisdom as one unified ROK Armed Forces. He urged each service and the Marine Corps to become a One Team and demonstrate collective intelligence, calling for bone-deep resolve to ensure that a prepared military can be handed over to future generations 15 years from now.

This briefing was conducted with a focus on comprehensively reviewing the defense blueprint our military must realize this year and sharing the fundamental direction for the advancement of core defense policies. The Ministry of National Defense emphasized the significance of the event, stating it was "the first work briefing received by a civilian Minister of National Defense at Gyeryongdae, the Heart of the ROK Armed Forces, since the Dec. 3 martial law crisis." This represented the first work briefing of the New Year, held alongside the newly configured command staff of each service branch and the Marine Corps following recent general officer appointments.

During the briefing, the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps presented the establishment of a firm military readiness posture as their foremost priority to Minister Ahn, and uniformly designated force augmentation, focused on cutting-edge science and technology including Artificial Intelligence (AI), as a collective requirement. Subsequently, he received reports on major issues from key personnel, including service commanders, and presided over the discussion.

Minister Ahn specifically scrutinized the implementation status of service-specific reorganizations, including the direction of the Army's unit structure reform and the Air Force's appropriate force structure, alongside the readiness status for civilian personnel outsourcing. Most critically, he conducted a detailed examination of the progress toward cultivating 500,000 drone warriors. Accordingly, he engaged in discussions with the attendees concerning strategies for: i) thorough project management aimed at the mass acquisition of educational drones with domestically localized core components; ii) the cultivation of expert drone instructors; and iii) the establishment of systematic education and training models aligned with the mission profiles of each service branch.

Minister Ahn emphatically restated drones are emerging as the next generation of personal weapons, and directed that substantive efforts be undertaken to ensure practical education commences from the foundational stage of the training system. He emphasized, "The military must transition from being merely a consuming group to a producing group," and stressed that the armed forces must lead the development of domestic drone and advanced-technology ecosystems.

Minister Ahn stated that the issue of improving conditions for junior officers is a critical task that must be pursued with utmost commitment, saying that "we must make them regret leaving the service, even to the point of pounding the ground in remorse," and ordered the Chiefs of Staff of each service and the Commandant of the Marine Corps to make thorough preparations. He emphasized that policies must be prepared with sincerity so that service members can truly feel the impact, and urged active promotion to ensure that all units are fully informed.

Regarding the issue of non-commissioned officer (NCO) recruitment, realistic field opinions were gathered from the Command Sergeants Major (CSM) of each service. At this meeting, the CSMs reported, "The NCO application rate across the entire military increased by 25% (approximately 4,300 personnel) in 2025 compared to the previous year. Groundbreaking efforts to improve military treatment, such as increasing basic pay and various allowances, are having a highly positive effect on boosting the morale of junior officers in the field units and on officer recruitment." They further expressed their intent to explore various recruitment strategies in the future.

Minister Ahn assessed the briefing as an opportunity to break down barriers between the services and further enhance mutual trust and communication. He emphasized, "Let us ensure that the tasks discussed today absolutely translate into implementation and tangible results in the field, thereby creating a year of bold takeoff toward a distant horizon - like the great bird embarking on a ten-thousand-mile journey."

By Byeong-No, Yun <[email protected] >

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