South Korea's defense budget has topped 70 trillion won for the first time.
The spending plan also includes about 100 billion won for the acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine, the first time such funding has appeared in the defense budget.
The government said it has set next year's defense budget at 73.2777 trillion won ($52.9 billion), an increase of 5.5737 trillion won from this year's 67.704 trillion won. The 8.2% increase is the largest since 2008 on a finalized-budget basis.
Under the government proposal, defense spending would equal 2.33% of gross domestic product next year, up from 2.28% this year.
The sharp increase reflects a push for self-reliant defense built on domestic technology and forces. The government has agreed with the Trump administration, which has pressed allies to shoulder more of the defense burden, on a path toward raising South Korea's defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035 at the latest.
Of next year's total, 50.0416 trillion won is allocated to force operations, up 5.9% from this year, while 22.7112 trillion won goes to force improvement, up 13.8%. The military manpower administration budget of 524.9 billion won rose 1.4%.
Funding for core capabilities needed to complete the transfer of wartime operational control within the Lee Jae-myung administration's term was set at 21.3 trillion won, up from 18.6 trillion won last year. The increase is seen as an effort to secure key capabilities early for a South Korean-led combined defense system after the transfer.
The Ministry of National Defense said it focused on strengthening the military's self-reliant defense capabilities in response to a rapidly changing security environment and a shrinking pool of conscripts, and on shifting from a manpower-centered military to one centered on advanced technology.
Most notably, about 100 billion won for the nuclear-powered submarine program, which the government is pursuing as a national strategic project, was included in the defense budget for the first time.
Officials had initially discussed allocating about 20 billion won for the program's first year, but the figure rose sharply during deliberations, according to sources. The decision to commit a substantial sum in the first year was intended to accelerate design work from the outset, sources said.
A special bill on the submarine program that the government is pursuing would allow the project to be exempted from the feasibility study that is otherwise mandatory before launching a large weapons acquisition program. The provision also reflects plans to merge the basic and detailed design stages rather than conduct them separately.
Funding for mass production of the domestically developed KF-21 supersonic fighter jet rose sharply to 3.3 trillion won next year from 1.4 trillion won this year.
The KF-21 program is being pursued in two stages. An initial production run covers 40 Block I aircraft, focused mainly on air-to-air capability, to be built from this year through 2028. A follow-on production run covers 80 Block II aircraft equipped with domestically developed long-range air-to-surface missiles.
Next year's budget covers the initial production batch due for delivery in 2027, along with 150 billion won to begin follow-on production in parallel. Aircraft from the initial batch are scheduled for sequential delivery to the Air Force starting in September this year.
To strengthen capabilities against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, the military plans to move up deployment of medium-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (MUAV) and long-range surface-to-air missiles (L-SAM) by about a year.
The budget also funds an upgrade of air-to-ground communications radios and construction of a new wartime military intelligence distribution system for the combined forces command, aimed at improving South Korea's ability to lead combined defense operations.
Substantial funding was also allocated to expand drone forces and multilayered counter-drone defenses in preparation for changes in modern warfare. Plans include launching research and development on drone swarms and acquiring medium-range suicide drones, squad-level small anti-personnel suicide drones and small attack drones.
The budget includes money to improve conditions for career military personnel, including expanded recruitment of technology-intensive noncommissioned officers, a central feature of the selective volunteer enlistment system taking effect next year. Pay for first-year staff sergeants will rise to about 3 million won a month, and the incentive for those commissioned as short-term-service noncommissioned officers will increase to 12 million won from 10 million won.
A new matching savings program, funded with 18.9 billion won, will provide up to 300,000 won a month for three years to those commissioned as short-term-service noncommissioned officers.
Funding was also concentrated on measures to get ahead of a shrinking pool of conscripts amid demographic change.
With active-duty manpower declining, the standing reserve force will expand to 7,000 from 3,700 to build a more capable reserve. Spending for that purpose rises sharply to 25.6 billion won from 8.7 billion won this year, and compensation for reserve training will also be raised.
New funding was included for a pilot program outsourcing non-combat tasks such as mowing, snow removal and facility management to the private sector, so that active-duty troops can concentrate on training and combat missions. The pilot covers comprehensive management including mowing for one GOP battalion, at 900 million won, and security for six civilian-control checkpoints and two garrisons, at 2.5 billion won.
Separately, 316.9 billion won was set aside next year to temporarily relocate the functions of the Air Force's 1st Fighter Wing, stationed at Gwangju Air Base, to bases including Yecheon and Seosan, after the Gwangju site was designated for a semiconductor cluster in the Honam region.
Funding for a government plan to merge the Army, Navy and Air Force academies was not included. The government is understood to be considering including it in the 2028 budget after a feasibility study next year.
