South Korea supercharges defense budget to record levels

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — South Korea will spend more on its military in the year ahead than it ever has before. The country’s defense budget is set to rise 8.2%, after government leaders announced the increased expenditure on Sept. 3.

The boosted defense spending of KRW 73.28 trillion – around $53.9 billion – comes amid deepening security concerns about North Korea, China and Russia.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s irascibility is also encouraging Seoul into greater self-reliance.

Trump posted on social media in August that – based on his good relationship with Kim Jong-un and since Pyongyang had been “unthreatening and respectful” – planned military exercises with South Korea would be scaled back because they were “totally inappropriate and hostile.”

Announcing the new budget, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) stated the spending plan “focuses on strengthening our military’s self-defense capabilities in response to the rapidly changing security environment and reduction of military service resources, and to transition from a troop-centered to a high-tech-oriented military.”

The MND outlined eight major priorities for spending.

The first is a self-reliant, Korean-led capability. As such, funding that will help prepare for the transfer of wartime operational control from the United States is up 35%. The goal is to complete the OPCON transition by 2029, meaning Seoul would command its own and American troops in the event of a conflict on the Peninsula.

This requires enhanced capabilities to detect and respond to Pyongyang’s threats, especially its nuclear and missile capabilities.

Command-and-control capabilities are slated to be enhanced by a new wartime military information distribution system destined for the joint Combined Forces Command.

A sticking point for South Korea’s conscription-reliant military is its aging population. To mitigate a shrinking recruit pool, Seoul is strengthening its reserves and outsourcing some noncombat duties to the private sector.

Seoul will put its eggs in the basket of unmanned technologies too.

Spending on artificial intelligence and unmanned ground monitoring systems increases. Similarly, the MND will “use drones as the main fighting vehicle for our military,” with this budget up almost 20% from last year.

Thus, it will bulk up on drone swarms, reconnaissance drones, various loitering munitions and an overarching counter-drone system. It will also train half a million “drone warriors.”

Other priorities highlighted in the budget are improved welfare, pay and housing.

The government will also invest more in future defense technologies to boost sovereignty and high-tech industry. Specific areas include semiconductors, aviation propulsion, hard-kill lasers and quantum technologies.

The government also wants to support the entry and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, including heightened export prospects.

Big-ticket items listed by name include the long-range L-SAM air defense system and MUAV medium-altitude reconnaissance drones. Significant money will also go on the KF-21 Boramae fighter, its allocation up nearly 2.5 times to KRW 3.3 trillion.

Production of the first production KF-21s is already under way.

Another area of investment is nuclear-powered submarines , with nearly KRW 100 billion allocated here as the program gathers pace.

Trump pressed Seoul to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, but the current budget – despite the record amount – currently represents just 2.33%.

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

新西兰基督城——韩国未来一年的军费开支将创历史新高。韩国政府领导人于9月3日宣布了这一增幅，该国国防预算预计将增长8.2%。

韩国将国防开支增加至 73.28 万亿韩元（约合 539 亿美元），这是在对朝鲜、中国和俄罗斯的安全担忧日益加剧的背景下做出的决定。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的暴躁脾气也促使首尔更加自力更生。

特朗普在8月份于社交媒体上发帖称，鉴于他与金正恩的良好关系，以及平壤方面“没有威胁性且尊重”，原计划与韩国举行的军事演习将会缩减规模，因为这些演习“完全不恰当且带有敌意”。

国防部在宣布新预算时表示，该支出计划“重点在于加强我军的自卫能力，以应对快速变化的安全环境和军事资源的减少，并从以部队为中心的军队向高科技导向的军队转型。”

国家发展部列出了八项主要支出优先事项。

首先是建立自主自立的、由韩国主导的作战能力。为此，用于准备从美国移交战时作战指挥权的资金增加了35%。目标是在2029年之前完成作战指挥权的交接，这意味着一旦朝鲜半岛发生冲突，首尔将能够指挥本国军队和美军。

这就需要增强探测和应对平壤威胁的能力，特别是其核武器和导弹能力。

指挥控制能力将通过一套新的战时军事信息分发系统得到提升，该系统将用于联合部队司令部。

韩国军队依赖征兵制，而人口老龄化是其面临的一大难题。为了缓解兵源萎缩的问题，首尔正在加强后备力量，并将部分非战斗任务外包给私营部门。

首尔也将把希望寄托在无人技术上。

人工智能和无人地面监测系统的支出有所增加。同样，国防部将“把无人机作为军队的主要作战工具”，这项预算比去年增加了近20%。

因此，它将大力发展无人机群、侦察无人机、各种巡飞弹以及一套全面的反无人机系统。它还将训练五十万名“无人机战士”。

预算中强调的其他优先事项包括改善福利、工资和住房。

政府还将加大对未来国防技术的投资，以增强国家主权并促进高科技产业发展。具体领域包括半导体、航空推进系统、硬杀伤激光器和量子技术。

政府还希望支持中小企业进入市场和发展壮大，包括提高出口前景。

列出的重点项目包括远程L-SAM防空系统和中空侦察无人机（MUAV）。此外，KF-21“波拉梅”战斗机也将获得大量资金，其拨款额几乎翻了2.5倍，达到3.3万亿韩元。

首批生产型KF-21战斗机的生产已经开始。

另一个投资领域是核动力潜艇，随着该计划的加速推进，已为此投入了近 1000 亿韩元。

特朗普敦促首尔将国防开支提高到GDP的3.5%，但目前的预算——尽管数额创纪录——目前仅占GDP的2.33%。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。