The 1st Security Group () is a military formation of the

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces with 365,0 ...

. The group is subordinated to the Capital Defense Command. It headquartered in Seodaemun District, Seoul, and have the mission to guards Mt. Bukak, Mt. Inwang, the central part of

downtown Seoul Downtown Seoul (), also known as Seoul Central Business District or ''Sadaemun-An'', is traditional city center and central business district of Seoul, located through Gwanghwamun of Jongno District and Seoul Station of Jung District, Seoul, Ju ...

, and the

Blue House Cheong Wa Dae (), also known as the Blue House in English, is a public park that was the former Office of the President of South Korea, executive office and residence of the president of South Korea. Located in Seoul's Jongno District, directl ...

History

According to the plan by President

Kim Young-sam Kim Young-sam (, ; 20 December 1927 – 22 November 2015), often referred to by his initials YS, was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the seventh president of South Korea from 1993 to 1998. From 1961, Kim spent almost 30 ye ...

to liquidate the remnants of the military dictatorship, on 17 December 1996, the 30th and 33rd Security Group were incorporated, and the 1st Security Group was established. The unit's main mission is to protect the president of Korea, the Blue House and its surrounding areas but after the President

Yoon Suk-Yeol Yoon Suk Yeol (; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who served as the 13th president of South Korea from 2022 until Impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, he was removed from office in 2025. The shortest-serving ...

moved his office to Yongsan, the existence of the unit became less important and the number of troops was reduced to "just enough to maintain the safety for the

Bugaksan Bugaksan () is a mountain in the north of Seoul, South Korea. It famously overlooks the former royal palace Gyeongbokgung as well as the former presidential residence, the Blue House. Bugaksan, along with Inwangsan, Naksan, and Namsan surround ...

's hikers".

2024 South Korean martial law crisis

During the

2024 South Korean martial law crisis On 3 December 2024, at 22:27 Korea Standard Time (KST), Yoon Suk Yeol, the then-president of South Korea, declared martial law during a televised address. In his declaration, Yoon accused the Democratic Party (South Korea, 2015), Democratic P ...

, the unit was spotted using

K808 White Tiger The K808/806 White Tiger ( "Baekho", Hanja: 白虎) wheeled armored personnel carrier (APC) is family of 8x8 and 6x6 armored vehicles. Developed by Hyundai Rotem as a private venture in 2012, the Republic of Korea Army, Korean Army declared a p ...

APCs. Lee Jin-woo, the commanding officer of South Korea's Capital Defense Command, reported that 211 soldiers of the 1st Security Group had been deployed to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

building.

Organization

*Headquarters (

Seodaemun District Seodaemun District () is one of the 25 List of districts of Seoul, districts of Seoul, South Korea. It has a population of 313,814 (2010) and has a geographic area of 17.61 Square kilometre, km2 (6.8 sq mi), and is divided into 14 ''Dong (admi ...

) **Signal Troop **Transport Troop **Armored Company ( K808 APC) **Chemical unit **Combat Support Company Equipped with 81mm mortars and 106mm recoilless guns mounted on light truck *30th Security Battalion *33rd Security Battalion

References

{{Reflist Military units and formations of the South Korean Army Military units and formations established in 1996