Korea says share of its defense spending against GDP 'very high' compared with key US allies

U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, center, testifies before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. Yonhap

Korea's share of its defense spending against its gross domestic product (GDP) is "very high," compared with other major U.S. allies, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday.

The assessment came after the United States on Thursday called for its Asian allies to meet the "global standard" of spending 5 percent of GDP on defense.

Korea's defense spending stood at 61.2 trillion won ($44.6 billion) for this year, accounting for 2.32 percent of its GDP. It marked a 3.1 percent increase from the previous year, according to ministry data.

"Among key U.S. allies, Korea is one of the countries that has a high defense spending ratio compared to its GDP," the ministry said in a statement.

"It has continuously hiked defense spending in consideration of the grave security situation, such as North Korea's nuclear and missile threats," it said.

The ministry said Korea will continue efforts to equip itself with the necessary capabilities and posture for the defense of the Korean Peninsula and regional peace and stability.

Seoul's foreign ministry echoed the view, saying the government has appropriately hiked its defense spending to bolster the country's defense capabilities.

"The government has increased necessary defense spending in order to continuously strengthen our defense capabilities amid a stern security environment," a ministry official said.

The official said the government seeks to make decisions on defense spending based on a comprehensive assessment of the security situation and the government's fiscal circumstances.

Compared with other Asian and European countries, Korea's share of defense spending against its GDP was higher than Japan's 1.16 percent, Britain's 2.21 percent and Germany's 1.44 percent as of 2023, according to data by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Raising it to meet the 5 percent threshold would require Korea to more than double its defense spending to around 132 trillion won.

The statement came as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing earlier this week that there is now a "new standard for allied defense spending that all of our allies around the world, including in Asia, should move to."

In a reaffirmation of the remark, the Pentagon said Thursday that Korea and other Asian allies are also subject to the "global standard" of spending 5 percent of GDP on defense, a proposal that U.S. President Donald Trump has put forward for European allies.