The website Naval News reported that Admiral Yudo Margono, the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy announced that the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) will transfer a retired corvette to Indonesian. Admiral Yudo Margono had requested the transfer of three corvettes during a visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK) in April of last year. Contrary to initial media reports, the transfer of only a single corvette has been confirmed, with the additional transfer of two more vessels still under consideration.
The exact class of ship that will be transferred to Indonesia has not yet been revealed, however Naval News believes it will likely be a Pohang-class corvette. The Pohang-class PCC (Patrol Combat Corvette)is the low-end complement of the high-low mix domestic naval construction plan of the Republic of Korea Navy under the 1st Yulgok Project (1974-1986) for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. The ship is designed for patrolling maritime borders, including the Northern Limit Line, protecting the littoral zone, and combating the North Korean vessels.
The Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy decommissioned 8 naval vessels from active service on 28 December 2021. The South Korea retired three Pohang-class corvettes and five Chamsuri-class patrol boats. In 2021, two corvettes were donated to Colombia and Peru. The decommissioning ceremony took place at Jinhae Naval Base in Changwon. They are being quickly replaced by new Daegu-class frigates. As of 2022, 7 remain in service in the ROKN, and 7 were transferred to other navies.
The three decommissioned corvettes are ROKS Wonju (PCC-769), ROKS Seongnam (PCC-775), and ROKS Jecheon (PCC-776), all of which are Flight-IV vessels. The five other retired vessels were fast patrol boats with hull numbers 313, 315, 317, 318 and 319, which have been in service with the navy since the 1980s. In September 2012, the Colombian Navy requested transfer of decommissioned corvette. In November 2021, representatives of the Philippine Navy visited the Jinhae naval base to examine the decommissioned Pohang-class corvette ROKS Andong (PCC-771).
