In the 1960s, the
Republic of Korea Armed Forces relied completely upon military support from the United States to supply its small arms, consisting mostly of
M1 Garands and
M1/M2 carbines. Attempts at the time to develop an indigenous rifle were hampered by the country's economic, technological, and industrial shortcomings, and initial attempts never went into production. During
South Korean involvement in the Vietnam War,
South Korean Army soldiers and
Marines received the more modern M16A1 assault rifle from U.S. military aid, though not enough to arm all active military personnel. With a modern rifle design and rapid economic growth in the 1970s, South Korea began to build the M16A1 (Colt Model 603K) under license in 1974. Despite being able to produce their own service rifle, it was not an ideal arrangement; the original license agreement did not cover enough weapons to equip their forces including millions of reserves, and having to pay license fees to manufacture the design was too expensive at a time when the country was short on foreign currency. Geopolitical considerations played a factor, as the
Nixon Doctrine and
Carter administration's use of the U.S. military presence on the
Korean peninsula as leverage to force change against South Korea's human rights practices. Under such influences, South Korea felt it necessary to be able to indigenously meet their own basic weapon needs. The K2 and
K1A had become outdated for international markets after 2000; in addition to lack of ability to add accessories, the K1A had become too large, underpowered and un-ergonomic as a
personal defense weapon or special operation carbine and the K2 was too long. In 2012, S&T Motiv introduced the K2C, or K2 Carbine. It has a shortened barrel with adjusted gas piston, upper receiver/handguard
Picatinny rail, and right side-folding
M4-style retractable stock; In 2017, The New K2C-1/2 variants with a foldable front sight and ambidextrous selector switches were unveiled. In 2018, the new K2C-1 variant was renamed K2C CQB (
Close-quarters battle).
K2C1 S&T Motiv developed the K2A to enhance its domestic appeal, which retained the full-length K2's features (including bayonet lug) and utilized the upgrades of K2C, such as the Picatinny rail on the upper receiver and handguard, as well as an Colt M4-style collapsible stock. It is slightly heavier than the original model, partly due to the screw attachment method of its rail, weighing , while the original K2 weighed . Afterward, the K2A was renamed to K2C1. The "C" in the name represented that only the exterior was modified, without any enhancements made to its performance, in accordance with the Korean Defense Specifications (KDS). Subsequently, the K2C1 was selected by the ROK forces as their standard weapon. The K2C1 underwent various changes compared to the K2A, which included an extended handguard rail with optional lower and side Picatinny rail sections, a flattop upper receiver featuring a detachable rear backup sight, and a new Magpul CTR-like collapsible stock. As of 2016, approximately 200,000 K2C1s were in active service with frontline troops. ==Design==