South Korea’s defense budget to exceed 70 trillion won for the first time

South Korea’s proposed defense budget would cross 70 trillion won for the first time, reaching 73.2777 trillion won next year. The government submitted the proposal to parliament on Sept. 1.

The planned spending represents an increase of about 8.2% from this year’s 67.704 trillion won. If approved unchanged, it would mark the country’s largest year-on-year increase since 2008. Defense spending would account for about 2.33% of GDP, compared with 2.28% this year.

The military said the increase reflects the Lee Jae-myung government’s push for greater self-reliance in defense, including an early transfer of wartime operational control. The government has also agreed with the Donald Trump administration to raise South Korea’s defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by no later than 2035, following Washington’s demands for greater allied burden-sharing.

The proposal sets aside 21.3 trillion won for key capabilities needed for the transfer, up 2.7 trillion won from last year’s 18.6 trillion won. It also includes new funding to establish a military information distribution system intended to improve the South Korean military’s combined command capabilities after the transfer. The headline and description state that the budget does not include funding to merge the military academies.