South Korean Government Responds to US 5% GDP Defense Spending Proposal: "We Will Decide After Comprehensive Review"

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "Comprehensive Review of Security Environment and Fiscal Conditions"
Current Defense Spending at 2.8% of GDP
Higher than Japan's 1.8%

US President Donald Trump is standing and saluting at the 250th anniversary parade of the US Army on the 14th. Photo by AP

Regarding the US Department of Defense's suggestion that Asian allies should also spend about 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, the South Korean government has stated that defense spending is a matter to be determined through a comprehensive review.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 20th, "We intend to make decisions on defense spending after comprehensively reviewing both domestic and international security environments, as well as the government's fiscal conditions," adding, "The government has continued to increase necessary defense spending in order to strengthen our national defense capabilities in the face of a grave security environment."

The Ministry of National Defense also stated, "South Korea is one of the countries with the highest defense spending as a percentage of GDP, and we have continued to increase our defense budget in consideration of the serious security situation, including North Korea's nuclear and missile threats." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs went further, making it clear that "the decision is ours to make."

Earlier, US Department of Defense spokesperson Sean Parnell said on the 19th, "Our European allies are setting a global standard for Asian allies," adding, "That standard is spending 5% of GDP on defense." This statement followed US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's announcement at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing the previous day that a new global standard for defense spending among allies had been established.

As the United States is set to ask NATO member states to increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP at the NATO summit scheduled for June 24-25, it has made clear its intention to demand the same increase from Asian allies such as South Korea and Japan.

If such a demand from the United States becomes reality, South Korea is expected to face a significant burden due to the gap with its current level of defense spending. Last year, South Korea spent about 66 trillion won on defense, which is about 2.8% of its GDP. It is highly likely that the United States will demand that South Korea raise its defense spending to 5% of GDP in the future.

However, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, South Korea is already one of the US's major allies with the highest ratio of defense spending to GDP. This year, South Korea's defense budget (61.2469 trillion won) has increased by 23.6919 trillion won (63.1%) compared to ten years ago. The ratio of defense spending to GDP has also risen by 0.16 percentage points, from 2.16% to 2.32%. This ratio is higher than that of Japan, another Asian ally with a US military presence, which stands at 1.8% for the 2025 fiscal year.