[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] First Military Parade in 10 Years... Largest Scale Ever

Mobilizing over 4,600 troops and around 170 pieces of equipment
US Forces Korea troops also participate in the city parade for the first time

President Yoon Suk-yeol is reviewing the troops at the '75th Anniversary of the Founding of the Armed Forces National Armed Forces Day Ceremony' held at Seoul Airport in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province on the morning of the 26th. Photo by Joint Press Corps

The government will hold a National Armed Forces Day commemorative event on the 26th at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the armed forces and the 70th anniversary of the Korea-US alliance. For the first time in 10 years since 2013, a street parade will also take place around Seoul’s Sungnyemun and Gwanghwamun areas. This will be the largest scale ever based on the deployed equipment.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, the street parade starting at 4 p.m. that day will involve about 4,600 troops and 170 pieces of equipment. This includes the Army’s K21 infantry fighting vehicles, K2 Black Panther tanks, and K9 self-propelled howitzers, along with the Marine Corps’ Landing Assault Armored Vehicles (KAAV), Patriot surface-to-air missiles, medium-range surface-to-air guided missile systems (Cheongung·M-SAM), and long-range surface-to-air guided missile systems (L-SAM).

In particular, the Hyunmoo-4 missile, which has been undergoing test launches since last year, will also be unveiled. The Hyunmoo-4 missile is divided into the ground-to-ground ballistic missile ‘Hyunmoo 4-1’, the ship-to-ground ballistic missile ‘Hyunmoo 4-2’, and the submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) ‘Hyunmoo 4-4’. It is classified as a concealment (庇匿) project, so even its official designation has not been disclosed.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is reviewing the troops at the '75th Anniversary of the Founding of the Armed Forces National Armed Forces Day Ceremony' held at Seoul Airport in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province on the morning of the 26th. Photo by Joint Press Corps

The street parade will begin with the equipment units, followed by the foot soldiers. In the sky, the Army’s AH-64E Apache helicopters and the Air Force’s Black Eagles aerobatic team will fly simultaneously. Additionally, the Navy’s next-generation Aegis destroyer Jeongjo the Great will participate in the parade through augmented reality (AR). The video will be broadcast live and can be viewed on three large screens installed around Gwanghwamun (Dajeong Building, Ilmin Museum of Art, Koreana Hotel). US Forces Korea combat troops will also participate, marking the first time that US Forces Korea will march alongside the South Korean military in the National Armed Forces Day parade.

In this year’s street parade, soldiers and citizens will march together with the military band, Yeomgwang High School marching band, and various military mascot dolls from the national review stand set up in front of Seoul City Hall to Gwanghwamun Square (Yukjo Madang). Following this, a large Taegeukgi flag unfurling event will take place at Gwanghwamun Square.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is reviewing the troops from a vehicle at the 75th Armed Forces Day ceremony held on the 26th at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Street parades have also been held under past governments. Since the Kim Dae-jung administration in 1998, they have been held every five years, that is, only once in the year a president takes office. Parades were held during the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2003, the Lee Myung-bak administration in 2008, and the Park Geun-hye administration in 2013. However, during the Moon Jae-in administration in 2018, the parade was canceled due to events such as the Singapore North Korea-US summit. Instead, the Moon administration held National Armed Forces Day events once each at the Navy’s 2nd Fleet, Yongsan War Memorial, Air Force’s 11th Fighter Wing, Army Special Warfare Command, and Marine Corps 1st Division.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is reviewing the troops from a vehicle at the 75th Armed Forces Day ceremony held on the 26th at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Under the current administration, the Ministry of National Defense has set the theme for the National Armed Forces Day commemorative event as ‘Strong Armed Forces, Robust Security, Peace through Strength.’ A Ministry of National Defense official explained, "The focus is on sending a message to North Korea that we can deter provocations and retaliate with strong force."

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