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A Study on the Modernization and Command Leadership of the Republic of Korea Air Force during the Transition Period - Focusing on the Tenure of the 6th Chief of Staff, General Kim Shin (1960–1962)

  • military history
  • 2026, (140), pp.471~512
  • Publisher : Military History Institute, MND
  • Research Area : Humanities > History
  • Received : July 5, 2026
  • Accepted : September 9, 2026
  • Published : September 15, 2026

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ABSTRACT

This study analyzes the impact of the military leadership of General Kim Shin, the 6th Chief of Staff of the Air Force, on the modernization and operational capability development of the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) during the politically turbulent early 1960s, from the perspectives of organizational history and military technology. Although the period from 1960 to 1962 was a time of crisis marked by the April 19 Revolution and the May 16 Military Coup, it was paradoxically a decisive turning point for the ROKAF to break away from being a tactical support force subordinate to the U.S. military and leap forward as a modern tactical air force equipped with independent command and control capabilities. By cross-verifying internal Air Force materials with documents from the Ministry of National Defense and the U.S. Department of State, this study empirically examines the strategic decision-making of Kim Shin’s leadership across the following three dimensions. First, the establishment of the Air Force Operations Command (AFOC) and the introduction of the all-weather air defense doctrine, specifically Ground Controlled Interception (GCI), in 1961 were strategic innovations that separated military administration from military command and laid the foundation for an independent airspace defense system apart from the U.S. Air Force. Second, in response to the asymmetric threat of North Korea’s supersonic jet buildup, the leadership proactively introduced T-28 intermediate trainer aircraft, thereby filling the gap in the pilot training system and improving practical combat power. Third, despite the disproportionately Army-centric defense structure and the political maelstrom following the May 16 Coup, General Kim protected the autonomy of the Air Force and firmly secured the continuity of ROK-U.S. military assistance through political realism and military diplomacy, utilizing human networks with Taiwan built since the anti-Japanese independence movement period. In conclusion, General Kim Shin’s tenure is evaluated as the period that built the operational and organizational foundations of the modern ROKAF despite a harsh security environment. He should be reevaluated not merely as a political figure who weathered a period of turmoil, but as a pioneering military strategist who led the modernization of the Air Force.

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