The Pohang-class PCC (Patrol Combat Corvette) (Korean: 포항급 초계함, Hanja: 浦項級哨戒艦) 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 border, including the Northern Limit Line, protecting the littoral zone, and combating the North Korean vessels.

[6] Captain Eom subsequently persuaded ROKN naval command to change the hull design for the construction of the second batch of the Donghae-class corvette.

[8] The Pohang-class is powered by one General Electric LM2500 gas turbine engine and two MTU Friedrichshafen 12V 956 TB82 diesel engines for combined diesel or gas (CODOG) propulsion system, which allows full displacement of 1,220 t ship to move at 32 kn maximum and 15 kn cruising speed.

However, the ship lacks air-search radar along with anti-air weapon, which was the biggest topic among the militaries of the world as a result of the Falklands War, due to low on budget.

The ship has limited defense capability against air and missile attack, only assisted by GoldStar ULQ-12K ESM (electronic support measures) and Mk 36 SRBOC (Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Countermeasures).

The Batch II removed twin Bofors 40mm/60 cannon, and mounted two Aérospatiale MM38 Exocet surface-to-surface missile launchers.

[9] Additional system changes include Marconi S1810 fire control radar and Radamec 2400 optronic director, both localized by Samsung.

In 1986, ROKS Pohang sunk an armed North Korean vessel as it ignored warnings after crossing the NLL of the Sea of Japan.

[13] On 1:30 AM of 18 September 1996, a local taxi driver found a grounded North Korean Sang-O-class submarine on the coast of Gangneung.

On 15 June, a North Korean torpedo boat opened fire at Chamsuri-class with grenades, rifles, and 25 mm cannons.

[22] On 29 September 2006, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) approved the batch 2 production of SSM-700K C-Star surface-to-surface missile for the year 2007 to 2010.

[23] On 10 November 2009, ROKS Suncheon participated in the Battle of Daecheong to provide support to the Chamsuri-class patrol boats.

On 20 May 2010, a South Korean-led investigation group announced that all evidence pointed to a North Korean torpedo being responsible for the sinking of ROKS Cheonan.

As a response to the North Korean submarine attack, Pohang-class upgraded its anti-submarine warfare capability by installing SLQ-261K TACM (Torpedo Acoustic Counter Measure) and changing older rescue boat to RIB (Rigid-hulled Inflatable Boat) on Batch IV and later variants as early as 2012.

[27][4] On 23 March 2014, the development of STX Engine SPS-300K surface search radar, which can detect small objects such as submarine periscope, was announced after being tested on ROKS Iksan.

The ESM detects electromagnetic waves emitted from the hostile missile and radar, allowing to track, analyze, identify, then warn the main system to automatically activate defensive measures such as Mk 36 SRBOC.

[28][29] On 17 February 2020, BRP Conrado Yap encountered the People's Liberation Army Navy Type 056A corvette Liupanshui on its patrol mission.

The ship received significant maintenance programs including disassembly and regeneration of diesel and gas turbine engines before the transfer to the Peruvian Navy.