January 21, 2026
SEOUL – The Drone Operations Command, a unit overseeing the South Korean armed forces’ drone assets and operations, should be disbanded, a special advisory committee under the Ministry of Defense said Tuesday.
The recommendation was included in a set of proposals released by the special advisory committee on future strategy under the Ministry of Defense.
The joint panel, composed of civilian, military and government officials, was launched in September 2025 to examine military units linked to the Dec. 3, 2024, martial law declaration and to propose institutional reforms aimed at preventing a recurrence.
In a statement, the committee said the Drone Operations Command should be disbanded “in consideration of inefficiencies arising from overlapping functions with existing services,” adding that measures to develop drone combat capabilities should instead be pursued in an integrated manner across the military.
The Drone Operations Command was created in September 2023 as a centralized body responsible for managing drone assets and operational planning across the Army, Navy and Air Force, following North Korea’s incursion of uncrewed aerial vehicles into South Korean airspace over the Seoul metropolitan area in 2022.
However, since its launch, the command has faced criticism over airspace control issues and overlapping roles with existing frontline units, raising concerns that the structure generated inefficiencies rather than the intended benefits of integrated operations.
The unit has also been drawn into controversy over alleged drone flights over Pyongyang in October 2024.
Prosecutors and investigators have claimed that the operation was intended to provoke North Korea and create a justification for former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024.
They allege that the order originated from Yoon, was relayed through then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, and was ultimately carried out by then-Drone Operations Command chief Kim Yong-dae. Kim Yong-dae was removed from his post on Dec. 10, 2025.
The Drone Operations Command is not the only unit facing restructuring. Earlier this month, the ministry also announced plans to disband the Defense Counterintelligence Command, a unit allegedly involved in the deployment of troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission during the martial law episode in phases within the year.
Tuesday’s announcement also outlined broader proposals for restructuring South Korea’s military command system as part of preparations for the transfer of wartime operational control, or OPCON.
The committee proposed establishing a Joint Operations Command that would exercise both peacetime and wartime operational control over South Korean forces.
Under the plan, the Joint Chiefs of Staff would transfer its operational functions to the new command and focus instead on strategic situation assessments, military strategy formulation and force development.
“In the US, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff serves as a military adviser to the president and the defense secretary, while operational command rests with subordinate commanders,” a ministry official said. “The proposal seeks to clarify the role of the Joint Operations Command chief in a similar way.”
The proposal comes as the administration of President Lee Jae Myung seeks to advance conditions for the transfer of wartime OPCON from the US-led South Korea-US Combined Forces Command.
South Korea transferred operational control of its forces to the United Nations Command during the 1950-53 Korean War. Control was later handed to the Combined Forces Command when it was established in 1978. While Seoul regained peacetime operational control in 1994, wartime OPCON remains under US authority.
For the transition, the allies adopted a conditions-based OPCON transition framework in 2014, requiring South Korea to complete three stages: Initial Operational Capability, verified in 2019; Full Operational Capability, targeted for 2026; and Full Mission Capability, the final step before the handover.
Under the current structure, the Combined Forces Command is led by a US general, with a South Korean general serving as deputy commander. The commander reports to the Military Committee, co-chaired by the chairmen of the South Korean and US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Once wartime OPCON is transferred to Seoul, the commander of the combined command would be a South Korean general, a role that would also be held by the head of the proposed Joint Operations Command, a Defense Ministry official said.
“This is not something to be implemented immediately,” the same ministry official added. “Coordination with the US will be required, and the effectiveness and feasibility of the plan will be reviewed as it is pursued in phases.”
The committee also called for redefining the role and mission of the Strategic Command to ensure greater strategic autonomy.
Established in October 2024, the command integrates and operates the military’s strategic capabilities for deterrence and response against nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, including the Kill Chain, Korea Air and Missile Defense, and Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation systems — the so-called three-axis defense system developed to counter North Korea’s nuclear threat.
The panel further recommended a comprehensive review of weapons requirements in line with deterrence strategies against North Korea, manned-unmanned combined operations and planned force restructuring. It also called for the accelerated deployment of key assets such as high-precision ballistic missiles, the L-SAM missile defense system, and military reconnaissance and small-satellite capabilities.
Other restructuring proposals include the establishment of a Space Command in light of evolving security conditions and the changing character of future warfare.
On personnel structure, the committee proposed maintaining a total defense workforce of more than 500,000 by the 2040s, consisting of 350,000 active-duty troops and 150,000 civilian defense personnel, including military civil servants and specialized reservists.