Republic of Korea Reserve Forces


The Republic of Korea Reserve Forces, also known as the ROK Reserve Forces, is the 3,100,000 reserve force of South Korea.
There are two major branches of the Reserve Forces: the Mobilization Reserve Forces and the Homeland Reserve Forces, a Home Guard type force. Soldiers who have completed their service in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces are automatically transferred to the Reserve Forces and must first serve 4 years in the Mobilization Reserve and then 4 years as an Homeland Reservist. During wartime, about 5 divisions would be formed under the Mobilization Reserves, and deployed to the war zone to provide support and regional stabilization. In the meantime, the Homeland Reserve would defend the homeland from any possible attacks from the enemy.

History

The Homeland Reserve Force was established in April 1968 as part of a nationwide program to increase emergency defense capabilities in response to increased North Korean infiltration. In January 1968, a North Korean commando unit infiltrated Seoul and attacked the Blue House Presidential residence in an attempt to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung Hee. That same month, two additional North Korean commando units launched attacks on towns on the Korean east coast in attempts to create an insurgency.

Civil Defense

In 1980 there were over 90,000 civil defense personnel in the country. By 1990 there were more than 3.5 million civil defense personnel in reserve. Their missions included air raid defense, search and rescue missions, building and road repair.

Equipment

Small Arms