On the 1st, the 77th anniversary of the military's founding, President Lee Jae-myung said that to achieve "strong self-reliant defense," "on the solid foundation of the ironclad South Korea-U.S. alliance, we will regain wartime operational control so that the Republic of Korea will lead the combined defense posture." Transition of wartime operational control during the term is a state task of the Lee Jae-myung administration. He also said he would sharply expand investment in defense strategic technologies to move beyond a human-wave-style military and reorganize it into a "smart, elite, strong force."
At the Armed Forces Day ceremony held at Gyeryongdae in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong Province, that day, Lee said, "We will drastically expand investment in defense strategic technology fields such as advanced aircraft engines and stealth technology to reorganize our military into a capable and specialized smart, elite, strong force."
Lee said, "From a country that received aid from allied nations because we had no domestically made weapons, we have now been reborn as a defense industry powerhouse that exports state-of-the-art tanks, self-propelled artillery, fighter jets, and submarines," adding, "We spend defense outlays amounting to 1.4 times North Korea's GDP and possess the world's fifth-ranked military power, and the Republic of Korea is a powerful nation whose integrated national power, including economic and cultural strength, is second to none."
He went on, "We also have solidarity and cooperation with nations that share our values, an unshakable South Korea-U.S. alliance, and the firm nuclear deterrence based on it," adding, "We must advance on the path of strong self-reliant defense, grounded in high pride and firm confidence in our defense capabilities. Self-reliant defense is inevitable if we are to respond proactively to a rapidly changing security environment."
The government set next year's defense budget at 66.2947 trillion won, up 8.2% from this year. It is the highest since 2018 (8.2%). Defense outlays as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) will be 2.42%, up 0.1 percentage point from this year. This includes a large share for big-ticket programs such as improving service members' treatment, developing the Korean fighter jet Boramae (KF-21) capable of ground attack, introducing early warning and control aircraft, and developing a Korean electronic warfare aircraft.
In this regard, Lee pledged ▲ fostering the defense industry ▲ improving service members' treatment. Lee said, "Our defense industry, with the advantages of overwhelming performance and high efficiency, is the foundation of strong security and a promising future industry," adding, "We will seize the rapidly changing global security landscape as an opportunity to help K-defense extend further into the world." He also said, "We will boldly invest in defense technology development and support the creation of the defense ecosystem from multiple angles so that it becomes the driving force for strengthening defense capabilities and economic growth."
As measures to improve service members' treatment, he mentioned improving service conditions and the compensation system. Lee said, "We will dramatically improve the treatment of junior officers and raise the job stability of mid-career officers, the backbone of the military," adding, "We will also strengthen support and honors for wounded service members so that the bitter lament 'called the nation's children when needed, abandoned when injured' no longer holds."
◇"Trust in the military plunged under martial law, we will eradicate illegal remnants"
He also cited restoring trust in the military after the Dec. 3 emergency martial law as a key task. Lee said, "The vast majority of service members, as citizens in uniform, had the courage to resist unlawful orders," but added, "The damage the people had to bear due to democratic backsliding, the collapse of the people's economy, and the decline of national dignity is so immense that it is difficult to calculate arithmetically. The military's honor and trust have fallen without limit."
He continued, "The military must swiftly regain public trust and properly fulfill its original mission and role," adding, "Let us work together so that it can be reborn as a true armed forces trusted by the people and proudly walk the path of honorable soldiers." Lee said, "As commander in chief and as the president responsible for the people of the Republic of Korea, I will thoroughly clear away the remnants of the illegal martial law and further strengthen the democratic and institutional foundations to rebuild the military into a force that defends the Constitution and the people."