The Military ranks of South Korea are the military insignia used by the
Republic of Korea Armed Forces
The Republic of Korea Armed Forces (), also known as the ROK Armed Forces, are the armed forces of South Korea. The ROK Armed Forces is one of the largest and most powerful standing armed forces in the world with a reported personnel strength of ...
. Due to the close military cooperation and the presence of the
United States Forces Korea
United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a Unified Combatant Command#Subordinate Unified Command, sub-unified command of United States Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK is the joint headquarters for U.S. combat-re ...
, South Korean ranks are inspired by the United States.
Current ranks
Commissioned officer ranks
The rank insignia of
commissioned officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
s.
Warrant officer ranks
All branches of the South Korean armed forces maintain a single warrant officer rank known as . This rank falls in between non-commissioned and commissioned officers. The rank is denoted by a gold-colored insignia and, in the case of the South Korean Navy, a single broken sleeve stripe.
Other ranks
The rank insignia of
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
s and
enlisted personnel
An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States m ...
.
Historic ranks
Other ranks
See also
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Comparative military ranks of Korea
The comparative military ranks of Korea are the military insignia used by the two nations on the Korean Peninsula, those being the Republic of Korea Armed Forces (South Korea) and the Korean People's Army of the Democratic People's Republic of Kor ...
*
Military ranks of North Korea The Military ranks of North Korea are the military insignia used by the Korean People's Army. Due to the close military cooperation, North Korean ranks are inspired by the Soviet ranks system.
Special ranks
})
,
, -
, Marshal of the Democratic ...
References
External links
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{{South Korean armed forces
Korea, South
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
Military ranks of South Korea