Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
Defense budget backlog stalls payments for discharged soldiers
Marine Corps troops carry out a coastal surveillance mission at sunset on Mal Island, a frontline island in the West Sea, Dec. 31, 2025. Courtesy of Marine Corps Headquarters
By Bahk Eun-ji
Late payments raise concerns over morale, trust among conscripts
Delays in year-end defense budget disbursements have spilled over from government accounts into the lives of individual soldiers, with thousands of recently discharged service members receiving their government-backed, interest-accruing savings deposits later than scheduled.
The Ministry of National Defense said payments under a government-backed savings program, which provides enlisted soldiers with a lump sum upon discharge, were delayed by around a week for roughly 15,000 soldiers who completed their service in December.
Defense officials attributed the delay to a disruption in the flow of defense funds at the end of the fiscal year. The defense ministry said the required budget was transferred from the finance authorities in two installments, with the final installment arriving close to the Bank of Korea’s year-end settlement deadline, leaving little time to process payments.
While the government has framed the issue as a temporary liquidity problem, this explanation has done little to ease the frustration among soldiers and their families.
On online community forums, the delay was widely criticized not as a technical mishap, but as a failure to honor a clear commitment.
“Whatever the reason, the government did not pay on the promised date, and that is the fact,” one post read. “Excuses can always be made, but in a country that remains technically at war, morale among soldiers matters.” Another commenter wrote that young conscripts deserve basic consideration, saying “these are young people sent to serve against their will at the peak of their youth and the state has an obligation to treat them properly.”
Some comments went further, questioning broader budget priorities.
One post asked why funds for soldiers were delayed while other nationwide spending programs were carried out as planned. “If money is tight, why were cash handouts to the public prioritized over defense spending?”
Some parents of soldiers voiced concerns that the delayed savings payout could be a warning sign rather than an isolated incident.
“My son received his savings on Dec. 31 but this does not feel like the end of the issue,” one parent wrote. “If budgets are this tight, what will happen to food supplies and daily provisions for troops?”
Several comments also pointed to recent cuts to welfare programs, including the suspension of cultural activity allowances.
“New recruits lost those benefits before they even had a chance to use them,” one post said. “It makes you wonder what the situation will be like in a month or two.”
The delay in savings came amid a broader backlog in defense spending. The defense ministry said that as of early January about 1.3 trillion won ($899 million) in defense funds remained unpaid, including operational expenses for some frontline units and payments to defense contractors. However, the ministry stressed that soldiers’ monthly salaries were paid on time.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance has sought to downplay the controversy, describing it as a routine end-of-year adjustment. Officials said aggressive fiscal spending late in the year led to a concentration of payments and noted that some tax revenues are recorded after the calendar year closes, creating a temporary mismatch between revenues and expenditures.
The defense ministry said it is coordinating closely with finance authorities to complete all outstanding payments within the month. Still online reactions suggest that the damage may already extend beyond financial inconvenience.
“Even a short delay breaks trust,” one commenter wrote. “Soldiers plan their lives around these payments when they return to civilian life.” Another warned that repeated disruptions could erode morale among troops serving through harsh winter conditions.
As the government moves to normalize defense payments, questions remain over whether stronger safeguards are needed to ensure that fiscal bottlenecks do not again reach individual soldiers.