[EXPLAINER] What Koreas ‘quasi-fourth service’ means for the Marines

Korea’s Marine Corps is undergoing a structural overhaul often described as a shift toward a “quasi-fourth service” system — a term that suggests elevation, but not full independence. The reform does not create a new military branch alongside the Army, Navy and Air Force. Instead, it redefines how the Marines are commanded and what responsibilities they formally carry out, while keeping them institutionally within the Navy. Defense officials say the goal is to correct a long-standing imbalance between authority and responsibility, rather than to expand the force or alter Korea’s joint command system. At the center of the change is operational control — who commands Marine units in peacetime and who is responsible when crises arise. Long-standing command imbalance Although the Marine Corps Headquarters was reestablished in 1987, its main combat units have not been under full Marine control for decades. Since 1973, the Army has had operational control of the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions, leaving the Marine Corps with administrative authority but limited command over its own fro

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