President Yoon Suk-yeol passes in front of the Hyunmoo-5 at a ceremony to celebrate the 76th anniversary of Armed Forces Day at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on October 1. Yonhap News

South Korea’s 76th Armed Forces Day ceremony and parade were held on October 1. The Hyunmoo-5 missile was unveiled for the first time and a U.S. strategic bomber, the B-1B, flew in the air. The government organized the large-scale event in line with its policy of peace by power. However, critics have questioned the need to spend more than 18 billion won over two years on “show-off” events that cause inconvenience to citizens.

The government held the Armed Forces Day ceremony at Seoul Air Base, in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, earlier in the day with the theme “Strong Armed Forces, Together with the People.” The ceremony unveiled the Hyunmoo-5, a surface-to-surface missile that is the main weapon in the “three-axis system” of mass retaliation. The missile is a secretly developed weapon used by the military to destroy underground bunkers where North Korean commanders hide. The three-axis system consists of a kill chain for mass retaliation and preemptive strikes against enemies, and a Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system for air interception of enemy missiles.

The Hyunmoo-5 was equipped with a cylindrical launch tube on a nine-axis, 18-wheeled-transporter erector launcher (TEL). The launch tube is estimated to be about 20 meters long. The power of the Hyunmoo-5 is comparable to that of a nuclear weapon. The known warhead weight is 8 tons, the highest in the world. It is said that reducing the warhead weight will allow it to fly farther like an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a range of 3,000 to 5,500 kilometers. The Hyunmoo-3 and Hyunmoo-4 were also displayed at the ceremony.

The U.S. Air Force's B-1B Lancer, a supersonic strategic bomber, flew over the event venue. This is the first time a U.S. military strategic asset has appeared at South Korea’s Armed Forces Day ceremony. The Lancer is a means of launching nuclear weapons and the display of the strategic asset is interpreted as an attempt to show North Korea the power of a strong South Korea-U.S. alliance.

In addition, South Korea’s supersonic fighter KF-21, stealth fighter F-35, small-armed helicopters and Apache helicopters conducted tactical flights. Unmanned and manned combat systems, such as quadrupedal robots, anti-aircraft drones, and unmanned submersibles, were also on display. Long-range surface-to-Air Missile (L-SAMs) also appeared following last year.

From 4 p.m., a 1.2-kilometer parade was held from Sungnyemun Gate, in Jung-gu, Seoul, to Gwanghwamun Gate. Some of the weapons showcased at the ceremony were unveiled to the citizens. During the parade, a performance was also held to raise the South Korean flag on the wall in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace, where the flag was raised during the restoration of Seoul during the Korean War.

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun marched behind the large national flag.

The government resumed the Armed Forces Day parade last year after a decade-long hiatus, and has been criticized for spending heavily on the event for two consecutive years until this year. Last year, the government spent 10.09 billion won on the ceremony, the parade, and forums and celebrations, and this year, it spent 7.98 billion won. After last year's Armed Forces Day event, the National Assembly Budget and Policy Office said, “There is a need to consider adjusting the frequency of large-scale events, as there is a risk of wasting the budget.”

Civil society organizations, such as People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and World Without War, criticized the parade, saying, “The military parade was planned as an authoritarian idea during the military dictatorship. It is nothing but a propaganda event to justify the Yoon government's failed military confrontation policy.”