Advanced Weapons Parade Floods the Streets... What Are the Costs? [Yang Nakgyu's Defence Club]

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The 76th Armed Forces Day commemorative event will be held at Seoul Airport on the 1st. A parade will also follow in the afternoon.

Advanced Weapons Parade Floods the Streets... What Are the Costs? [Yang Nakgyu's Defence Club]

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The parade has also been held under past governments. Since the Kim Dae-jung administration in 1998, it has been held every five years, that is, only once in the year a president takes office. The parade was held during the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2003, the Lee Myung-bak administration (2008), and the Park Geun-hye administration (2013). However, during the Moon Jae-in administration in 2018, the parade was canceled due to events such as the Singapore North Korea?United States summit. The Yoon Suk-yeol administration resumed the Seoul Sungnyemun to Gwanghwamun parade last year after a 10-year hiatus. Holding a downtown parade for two consecutive years is the first time since former President Chun Doo-hwan of the Fifth Republic.

In 2013, when the last military parade was held, 9.19 billion KRW was spent on the Armed Forces Day parade and celebratory banquet. The military had planned a large-scale event for the 70th anniversary in 2018 but simplified the event by omitting the parade considering inter-Korean relations. The budget at that time was 2.72 billion KRW, which is 34% of the allocated amount (7.91 billion KRW). The Ministry of National Defense spent 9.9 billion KRW last year and 7.9 billion KRW this year.

In North Korea’s case, it is estimated that about 1 trillion KRW was invested for the military parade event. This is about one-third of North Korea’s annual budget. In October 2015, during the 70th anniversary of the Workers' Party founding, North Korea reportedly ordered foreign currency procurement to cover the huge costs of the event. It is known that residents were levied 40 yuan (about 7,461 KRW) per household in Chinese currency under the pretext of supporting construction projects or the parade.

The Russian military parade is similar. In 2017, the amount spent on the parade reached 810 million rubles (about 16 billion KRW). The U.S. military parade is also costly. The 2019 budget for the U.S. parade was 92 million USD (about 103.8 billion KRW). Approximately 50 million USD was spent on mobilizing aircraft, various weapons, and troops, and the remaining 42 million USD was used for security and unit expenses.

Former President Donald Trump visited France in July 2017 and attended the Paris parade commemorating the French Revolution, saying it was "one of the best parades I have ever seen" and expressed a desire to hold a parade in Washington D.C. on the U.S. Independence Day. However, public opinion was unfavorable. The plan to hold a large-scale military parade in the heart of the U.S. capital, which is rare among Western countries, drew criticism from various sectors including the U.S. Congress.

Especially for the U.S. military, it is not a country that holds military parades annually. This contrasts with totalitarian states or some European countries that emphasize tradition. The Washington Post criticized that showcasing large-scale missile launch equipment would provoke nationalism in the style of Pyongyang rather than patriotism among Americans. Additionally, the enormous cost was pointed out as a problem.

At that time, U.S. media reported, citing officials, that the parade cost would exceed the White House’s initial estimate by more than three times, reaching 92 million USD (about 103.8 billion KRW). It was calculated that about 50 million USD would be spent on aircraft, various weapons, and troop mobilization, and the remaining 42 million USD on security and unit expenses.

Spokesperson Jeon Ha-gyu said, "When the public shows support and encouragement to the soldiers through large-scale events, it has a very significant impact on boosting troop morale."