Conscription in South Korea
The basis for military conscription in South Korea is the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, which was promulgated on July 17, 1948. The constitution states in Article 39, "All citizens shall have the duty of national defense under the conditions as prescribed by Act." The Military Service Act of 1949, which was implemented in 1957, specified that compulsory military service is required for men ages 19 or older. Conscription is managed by the Military Manpower Administration, which was created in 1948.
Republic of Korea Marine Corps
The Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC; ; Hanja: 大韓民國海兵隊; Revised Romanization: "Daehanminguk Haebyeongdae"), also known as the ROK Marine Corps, or the ROK Marines, is the marine corps of South Korea. The ROKMC was founded as a suppression operations force against communist partisans in 1949, just prior to the start of the Korean War. The ROKMC also saw combat during the Vietnam War, while stationed in Da Nang, occasionally fighting alongside the U.S. Marines. The ROKMC was disbanded temporarily in 1973 but was reconstituted in 1987 and remains active to this day.