The following article is an opinion piece by ROK Navy Commander Jihoon Yu, a fellow at the Korean Institute for Defense Analysis and a former member of the ROK Navy’s task force on the CVX light aircraft carrier project, and Erik French, a professor at the State University of New York at Brockport. Views expressed in opinion articles are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

The Yoon administration’s proposed defense budget for 2023 does not include funding for a light aircraft carrier (CVX) program added in last year’s national budget. The decision shows that the program’s numerous critics have persuaded the government that a carrier is poorly suited to South Korea’s defense environment.