[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Is the 'Strategic Command' Mentioned by Yoon Necessary?

President Yoon Suk-yeol "Combat-Ready Strong Military"
Enhancing ISR Surveillance and Reconnaissance to Secure North Korean Intelligence
Concerns Raised Over Conflict with JCS Missions

"We need a sweeping change on the scale of a second founding of the armed forces to create a combat-ready strong military that can win."

President Yoon Suk-yeol made this remark during the first meeting of the Defense Innovation Committee held at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 11th, drawing attention by mentioning the establishment of the Strategic Command. The Strategic Command is an organization first mentioned by President Yoon in last year's Armed Forces Day commemorative speech, but there are also criticisms that many issues remain to be resolved, such as overlapping functions between the existing branches and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, the Ministry of National Defense reported that President Yoon had announced the creation of the Strategic Command at the first meeting of all key military commanders held at Gyeryongdae, Chungnam.

The plan is to secure surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets such as reconnaissance satellites and unmanned reconnaissance drones to independently collect imagery and signal intelligence across North Korea and enhance information fusion capabilities. Additionally, the Korean-style "3-axis system" will be intensively strengthened to independently possess deterrence and response capabilities against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. To this end, the current Joint Chiefs of Staff Nuclear and WMD Response Center, which performs related functions, will be upgraded to a headquarters-level command led by a general officer, and the Strategic Command will be established in 2024.

Concerns over mission conflicts between Joint Chiefs and individual branches, and inevitable command and control confusion

In particular, the Army reorganized its existing Missile Command into the Missile Strategic Command last year, raising the commander's rank from major general to lieutenant general. Some analysts interpret the use of the term "strategic command" for missile forces, which are a tactical means, as a preparatory move to establish a Strategic Command centered on the Army.

However, there are ongoing criticisms that conflicts with the current missions of the Joint Chiefs and each branch make command and control system confusion inevitable.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff's Nuclear and WMD Response Headquarters is the predecessor of the Strategic Command. It will oversee the Korean-style 3-axis system composed of Kill Chain, Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD), and Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR). It is expected to command operations of strategic assets such as Hyunmoo-series ballistic missiles, stealth fighters, and 3,000-ton class submarines.

Because of this, some point out that the Joint Chiefs currently have the capability to respond to nuclear and WMD threats, making the missions overlapping. Strategic weapons are already under operational control of each branch and commanded by the respective component commanders. Additionally, issues of command arise with the combined forces commanders between South Korea and the U.S. established during wartime and peacetime, as well as command and control system confusion between the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Strategic Command commander.

There is also an assessment that the establishment of the Strategic Command is a move to increase the number of Army generals. This year, under the government's "Defense Reform 2.0," the 5th and 6th Corps and the 3rd and 8th Corps will be merged, inevitably reducing the number of general officer positions.

A government official said, "The Moon Jae-in administration also considered establishing the Strategic Command, but ultimately gave up due to concerns about overlapping command systems and missions or the need to create more general officer positions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.