Agreement on South Korea-US Defense Cost-Sharing Pact Extended Until 2026 with "Meaningful Increase" (Comprehensive)

Jeong Eun-bo, the Special Representative for the Korea-US Defense Cost-Sharing Negotiations, is departing through Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on the morning of the 4th to attend the 9th meeting for the conclusion of the 11th Korea-US Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on defense cost-sharing, held in Washington, USA. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] South Korea and the United States have finally concluded negotiations on the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) for the defense cost-sharing of the US Forces Korea. The resolution of the conflict between South Korea and the US over the cost-sharing during the Donald Trump administration is expected to serve as an opportunity to strengthen the Korea-US relationship once again.

On the 7th (local time), the US Department of State announced in a statement that both countries have reached a principled agreement in the defense cost-sharing negotiations.

Although the State Department did not specify the details of the agreement, The Wall Street Journal reported that the agreement is expected to have a validity period extending until 2026.

This means that the SMA agreement validity period, which was reduced to one year during the Trump administration, will be extended. Extending the validity period can reduce the burden caused by annual SMA negotiations.

However, it appears that South Korea’s burden will increase. Earlier, CNN reported that South Korea and the US are likely to agree on a multi-year contract that raises the defense cost-sharing by 13% compared to the previous amount.

Previously, in 2020, South Korea and the US had tentatively agreed to increase South Korea’s contribution by 13% from 1.0389 trillion won in 2019, but the agreement was not finalized due to former President Donald Trump’s rejection.

However, the fact that the US and Japan are reported to have agreed to maintain the existing defense cost-sharing terms is burdensome. In February, the US and Japan agreed to increase the cost-sharing for US Forces Japan by 1.2% from the previous year to 201.7 billion yen (approximately 2.1 trillion won).

Although the validity period of the US Forces Japan cost-sharing agreement is only one year, the increase of 1.2% is a better condition compared to South Korea. The SMA agreement requires ratification by the National Assembly.