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Navy to hold postponed int'l fleet review marking 80 years of liberation

Published: 21 Jul. 2025, 17:10

The Navy commissions the Jeongjo the Great destroyer, the first Aegis destroyer from Korea’s KDX-III Batch-II program, at the Busan Naval Operations Base in Busan, on Dec. 2, 2024. [YONHAP]

The Navy is set to hold an international fleet review in late September after it was postponed due to political turmoil triggered by former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched attempt to impose martial law, officials said on Monday.

The Navy had initially planned to hold the event in Busan in May to mark the 80th anniversaries of Korea's liberation from the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule and the establishment of the Korean Navy, but postponed it to the second half of the year.

This year's event will likely involve only Korean vessels without featuring foreign warships, the Ministry of National Defense said.

"I understand that the fleet review will only comprise our vessels rather than involving those from other nations," ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyou said in a regular press briefing.

A Navy official said that the fleet review is likely to take place at the end of September, with a review currently underway on whether to invite the U.S. side as part of efforts to boost the Korea-U.S. alliance.

If held, the event will mark the Navy's first international fleet review since 2018. Previous reviews were held in 1998, 2008 and 2015.

Japan was invited to join the 2018 event but did not participate amid a row over its plan to fly its Rising Sun ensign, which is castigated in Korea as a symbol of Japan's imperialist past.

Yonhap