# Korea Coast Guard

The Korea Coast Guard (KCG; Korean: 해양경찰청; Hanja: 海洋警察廳; RR: Haeyang-gyeongchal-cheong; lit. Maritime Police Agency) is a South Korean law enforcement sub-agency responsible for maritime safety and control off the coast. The KCG is an independent and external branch of Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
The KCG has its headquarters in Incheon, has hundreds of smaller operating stations along the coastline of the Korean Peninsula. It operates 4 classes of heavy vessels (over 1,000 tons), 3 classes of medium vessels (over 250 tons), and 3 classes of light vessels (speedboats over 30 tons). The KCG also uses several types of 'special purpose watercraft', such as firefighting vessels, barges, high-speed scout boats, light patrols, and amphibious hovercraft. The KCG aviation unit fields 6 fixed-wing aircraft and 16 rotary-wing aircraft. The Coast Guard also had its own asymmetric warfare unit named the 'Korean Coast Guard Special Operation Unit'.

## History

The Coast Guard Authority was formed on 23 December 1953 in Pusan, at the same time a Maritime Police Unit was also established as part of the National Police Agency. In October 1962, new bases were established in Inchon, Yeosu, Po-Hang, and Kunsan. In February 1963, the aviation unit of the KCG closed, though it reopened in the 1980s.
From 1980 onwards, the KCG greatly expanded its fleet, and in August 1991, the Police Unit was renamed the Korea National Maritime Police Agency. In 2007 the Korea National Maritime Police Agency was integrated into the Coast Guard. In the early 21st century, the fleet expanded to include various vessels of over 3,000 tons, and as of January 2002, the 'Korean Coast Guard Special Operation Unit' was officially formed. In the May 2008, the "Search & Rescue Maintenance Unit" was newly constructed, and as of late 2008, various sub-agencies changed infrastructural composition.
Before its temporary disestablishment in 2014 the Korea Coast Guard had planned to field more vessels over 5000 tons by 2015, and to significantly expand its asymmetric warfare force through encouraging participation from other police branches.

### Disestablishment

On May 18, 2014, President Park Geun-hye announced South Korea's "plans to break up its coastguard" after failing to respond well during the MV Sewol ferry disaster. According to Park, "investigation and information roles would be transferred to the South Korea National Police while the rescue and salvage operation and ocean security roles would be transferred to the Department for National Safety, not to be confused with the Korean Ministry of Security and Public Administration, which will be newly established".
On November 7, 2014, the National Assembly declared that the South Korean coast guard be disbanded as a result of South Korean lawmakers voting 146 to 71 in favor of transferring the Coast Guard's investigative responsibilities to the South Korea National Police Agency and establishing a broader safety agency. As a result, the South Korean Coast Guard is again under the Ministry of Public Safety and Security.

### Reestablishment

Newly elected President Moon Jae-in announced his plan to re-organise the ministries and government agencies. Following the approval of the National Assembly, the South Korean coast guard was revived on July 26, 2017 as an independent, external agency under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

## Equipment
### Aircraft

These are quoted from "Korean Coast Guard 2012 White Paper"
| Aircraft | Type | In service | Cruise speed | Capacity | Endurance | Ferry range |
| Fixed-wing ||||||||
| CL-604 (Bombardier Challenger 600) | Search and rescue airplane | 1 | 833 km/h | 11 passengers | 8 hours | 6,667 km |
| C-212 (CASA C-212 Aviocar) | Search and rescue airplane | 1 | 370 km/h | 7 passengers | 5 hours | 1,482 km |
| CN-235 (CASA/IPTN CN-235) | Search and rescue airplane | 4 | 394 km/h | 12 passengers | 7 hours | 2,037 km |
| Rotary-wing ||||||||
| Bell 412SP | SAR purpose helicopter | 1 | 218 km/h | 9 passengers | 3.5 hours | 722 km |
| KA-32C (Kamov Ka-27) | SAR purpose helicopter | 8 | 211 km/h | 12 passengers | 4 hours | 852 km |
| AgustaWestland AW139 | SAR purpose helicopter | 2 | 305 km/h | 10 passengers | 3.9 hours | 819 km |
| Eurocopter AS565 PantherMB | Vessel-carried helicopter | 5 | 296 km/h | 8 passengers | 3.3 hours | 796 km |
| Sikorsky S-92 | SAR purpose helicopter | 2, with an option for up to 2 additional | 280 km/h | 19 passengers | 6 hours | 1,000 km |

### List of ships of the Korea Coast Guard

These are quoted from "Naver 블로그 지식의 수집광"
| Class | Displacement (empty) | Displacement (full load) | In service | Hull number/In commission | Builder | Armament |
| Large Patrol Vessel |||||||
| Sam Bong | 5,000 tons | 6,350 tons | 2 | KCG Sam Bong (ARS 5001)/2002 | Hyundai Heavy Industries | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Sam Bong | 5,000 tons | 6,500 tons | 2 | KCG Lee Cheong Ho (ARS 5002)/2015 | Hyundai Heavy Industries | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm; OTO Melara 76 mm canon |
| Tae Pyung Yang (Pacific) | 3,000 tons | ? tons | 13 | 3001/1994 | Unknown | 2 x 20 mm Sea Vulcan |
| Tae Pyung Yang (Pacific) | 3,000 tons | ? tons | 13 | 3002/1998 | Unknown | 1 x 20 mm Sea Vulcan |
| Tae Pyung Yang (Pacific) | 3,000 tons | 4,450 tons | 13 | 3003/2003 | Hanjin Heavy Industries | 1 x 20 mm Sea Vulcan |
| Tae Pyung Yang (Pacific) | 3,000 tons | 3,860 tons | 13 | 3005/2004 | Hanjin Heavy Industries | 1 x 20 mm Sea Vulcan |
| Tae Pyung Yang (Pacific) | 3,000 tons | 3,900 tons | 13 | 3006/2005 | Hanjin Heavy Industries | 1 x 20 mm Sea Vulcan |
| Tae Pyung Yang (Pacific) | 3,000 tons | 3,900 tons | 13 | 3007/2006 | Hanjin Heavy Industries | 1 x 20 mm Sea Vulcan |
| Tae Pyung Yang (Pacific) | 3,000 tons | 3,900 tons | 13 | 3008/2008 | Hanjin Heavy Industries | 1 x OTO Melara 40 mm, 1 x 20 mm Sea Vulcan |
| Tae Pyung Yang (Pacific) | 3,000 tons | 3,900 tons | 13 | 3009/2010 | Hyundai Heavy Industries | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Tae Pyung Yang (Pacific) | 3,000 tons | 3,900 tons | 13 | 3010/2010 | Hyundai Heavy Industries | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Tae Pyung Yang (Pacific) | 3,000 tons | ? tons | 13 | 3011/2012(Training Role) | STX Offshore & Shipbuilding | 1 x 20 mm Sea Vulcan |
| Tae Pyung Yang (Pacific) | 3,000 tons | 4,200 tons | 13 | 3012/2012 | Hyundai Heavy Industries | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Tae Pyung Yang (Pacific) | 3,000 tons | 4,200 tons | 13 | 3013/2015 | STX Offshore & Shipbuilding | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Tae Pyung Yang (Pacific) | 3,000 tons | 4,200 tons | 13 | 3015/2015 | STX Offshore & Shipbuilding | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Je Min | 1,500 tons | 2,200 tons | 12 | 1501/1988 | Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering | Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Je Min | 1,500 tons | 2,246 tons | 12 | 1502/1996 | | |
| Je Min | 1,500 tons | 2,700 tons | 12 | 1503/2000 | Hanjin Heavy Industries | Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Je Min | 1,500 tons | 2,700 tons | 12 | 1505/2001 | | |
| Je Min | 1,500 tons | 2,700 tons | 12 | 1506/2004 | Hyundai Heavy Industries | Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Je Min | 1,500 tons | 2,700 tons | 12 | 1507/2004 | Hyundai Heavy Industries | Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Je Min | 1,500 tons | 2,700 tons | 12 | 1508/2005 | Hyundai Heavy Industries | 3 x Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Je Min | 1,500 tons | 2,700 tons | 12 | 1509/2007 | Hanjin Heavy Industries | |
| Je Min | 1,500 tons | 2,700 tons | 12 | 1510/2007 | Hanjin Heavy Industries | 1 x OTO Melara 40 mm, 1 x 20 mm Sea Vulcan |
| Je Min | 1,500 tons | 2,700 tons | 12 | 1511/2008 | Hyundai Heavy Industries | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Je Min | 1,500 tons | 2,265 tons | 12 | 1512/2011 | STX Offshore & Shipbuilding | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Je Min | 1,500 tons | 2,265 tons | 12 | 1513/2012 | STX Offshore & Shipbuilding | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| HAN-RIVER | 1,000 tons | 1,530 tons | 9 | 1001/2012 | Hyundai Heavy Industries | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| HAN-RIVER | 1,000 tons | 1,530 tons | 9 | 1002/2012 | | |
| HAN-RIVER | 1,000 tons | 1,600 tons | 9 | 1003/2013 | STX Offshore & Shipbuilding | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| HAN-RIVER | 1,000 tons | 1,600 tons | 9 | 1005/2015 | STX Offshore & Shipbuilding | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| HAN-RIVER | 1,000 tons | 1,630 tons | 9 | 1006/1997 | | Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| HAN-RIVER | 1,000 tons | 1,860 tons | 9 | 1007/2002 | Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering | Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| HAN-RIVER | 1,000 tons | 1,860 tons | 9 | 1008/2004 | Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| HAN-RIVER | 1,000 tons | 1,860 tons | 9 | 1009/2009 | Hyundai Heavy Industries | Breda 40mm, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| HAN-RIVER | 1,000 tons | 1,530 tons | 9 | 1010/2012 | Hanjin Heavy Industries | Doosan DST 'No Bong' dual 40mm gun, Sea Vulcan 20 mm |
| Class | Displacement (empty) | In service | Country of origin | Hull number |
| Medium Sized Patrol Vessel ||||||
| Taegeuk | 500 tons | 16 | South Korea | 501~518 |
| Haeuri(type A) | 300 tons | 22 | South Korea | 300~303, 305~307, 308~323 |
| Haeuri(type B) | 250 tons | 2 | South Korea | 278,279 |
| Haeuri(type C) | 200 tons | 2 | South Korea | 201,202 |
| Small sized patrol vessel ||||||
| Haenuri | 100 tons | 26 | South Korea | 103~131 |
| P class(type A) | 30~50 tons | 82 | South Korea | P01~P102, P105~P112, P127 |
| P class(type B) | 30,50,100 tons | 20 | South Korea | |
| Special Vessel ||||||
| S class(coastal patrol boat) | 4.5t | 53 | South Korea | S01~S70 |
| Fireboat | 200t | 1 | South Korea | |
| Response Vessel | 12t, 50t, 85t, 140t, 150t, 450t | 33 | South Korea | |
| All-Weather Amphibious Hovercraft | | 8 | South Korea | |

## Command

Formerly called Korea Maritime Police, is led by a Commissioner of the KCG and a deputy Commissioner.
The KCG is divided into six Bureaus and 23 Divisions. There are 16 KCG stations with 74 branch offices and 245 subagencies.
Other related agencies include:
* KCG Academy
* KCG R&D Center
* KCG Maintenance Agency