If there is no conflict at the moment or if there is no special situation like our country, we would expect that most countries would be considered peaceful and thus would have less defense spending.
I also thought that global defense spending would decrease because I have seen that even the US, which is called the ‘world’s policeman’, announced that it would reduce its defense budget. However, compared to 2017, global defense spending increased by 1.1% in 2018.
With defense spending increasing worldwide, we have compiled various data and opinions to determine how much our country’s defense budget was in 2018 and what the defense budget levels are in neighboring countries. – View the world defense budget rankings
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Comparison of South Korea’s Defense Budget in 2018 with Neighboring Countries
< 2017 Defense Expenditures of Korea and Neighboring Countries >
How much is Korea’s defense budget? In a situation where defense investment is continuously increasing to defend against neighboring countries, Korea’s defense budget in 2017 was 40 trillion won, ranking 10th in the world. In 2018, it was set at 43 trillion won (2.3% of GDP), which is an increase from that.
You can see articles saying it will exceed 50 trillion in 2021.
However, since defense spending is measured as a percentage of GDP, some argue that South Korea’s defense spending is relatively low. China’s defense spending is about 250 trillion won, which is 1.9% of GDP, Russia’s is 78 trillion won, which is 5.3% of GDP, Japan’s is 52 trillion won, which is 1% of GDP, and North Korea’s is estimated at 10 trillion won, which is 23.3% of GDP.
So, there is also an opinion that Korea should maintain the level of 3% of GDP in order to keep neighboring countries in check.
Strengthening military power to check neighboring countries
South Korea is in a state of armistice with North Korea, and is a country that invests heavily in defense because it is located between Japan, China, and Russia.
Because of its neighboring North Korea, the army is very strong, and it is the country with the second largest number of marines after the United States. Also, because of its passion for firepower, it has strong artillery power, and is nicknamed the ‘Artillery Department’.
The Army plans to operate over 1,000 K9 self-propelled howitzers, which are also exported to foreign countries, and will begin introducing the problematic K2 tank, Black Panther, starting in 2019.
In addition to these, we are deploying or preparing various weapons, such as the long-range artillery killer KTSSM, Hyunmoo missiles, and K2C1 rifles.
Because they are investing heavily in the army, their air force and navy are relatively weak compared to neighboring countries. However, as Japan and China increase their defense capabilities, they have begun to invest in their navy and air force.
The Air Force is introducing weapons such as stealth fighters, aerial refueling tankers, and reconnaissance aircraft, and the Navy is introducing and planning to introduce Aegis ships, transport ships (Dokdo, Marado), and nuclear submarines.
The plan to increase naval power was established to secure defensive capabilities against Japan’s Dokdo issue and North Korea’s submarine attacks, and it can be said that it is still in progress.
This part caused Japanese media and netizens to react with concern, but there were also reactions from the Navy saying that they could not be defeated.
The reason this concern was raised is because of the large transport ships Dokdo, Marado, and Baengnyeongdo, which are currently under preparation.
The fact that South Korea, which has focused on coastal defense, is building a large transport ship is not a force to deal with North Korea. Chinese media also reported that the Marado was a transport ship built to deal with Japan, not North Korea.
From Korea’s perspective, it may have been created for the purpose of keeping Japan in check, but it can also be said that it was created to make up for the shortage of Marine Corps transport ships.
The Marine Corps is a force belonging to the Navy, and since its main operations are landing operations, it is introducing the Marine On (Marine Corps version of Surion) amphibious assault helicopter along with transport ships.
And the construction of the third large transport ship, Baekryeongdo, and the development of a nuclear submarine are underway, and it can be said that three additional Aegis destroyers and several mini-Aegis ships are scheduled to be built in the 2020s.
As part of its next-generation fighter program, the Air Force plans to introduce 40 F-35A stealth fighters by 2021, and is considering introducing an additional 20.
Through the KFX project, six prototypes will be manufactured in 2021 and the development of a Korean fighter jet is planned to be completed in 2026. The plan is to replace the current aging aircraft with the FA-50 Korean light attack aircraft.
The Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, which was scheduled to be introduced this year, will be introduced in 2019 with four units due to enhanced cybersecurity measures.
Power in light of the Japanese conflict situation
While our country is focused on North Korea, Japan is currently experiencing conflicts in three places. First, we can see that the defense system is being dispersed due to territorial disputes related to our country’s Dokdo, China’s Senkaku Islands, and Russia’s Kuril Islands.
First, Russia is creating military tensions by sending bombers if Japan has a dispute over the Kuril Islands. Also, Japan has military tensions with its neighbors to the extent that a confrontation with China could occur over the Senkaku Islands.
As an island nation, it has a strong navy, but its army is relatively weak. This is because it is militarily restricted as a war criminal nation, and its soldiers have a perception that their jobs are their jobs, so their mental strength and training level are undervalued compared to neighboring countries.
For example, in terms of military constraints, our country can possess long-range missiles, but Japan cannot.
Japan’s domestic production and economies of scale have made products like the 6-axis unexportable and must be used only within the country, so their prices are quite high.
One of the many reasons why our country’s K9 was chosen over the German PZH 2000, which is considered the best in the world when purchasing self-propelled howitzers in Europe and India, is its cost-effectiveness, offering similar performance at half the price.
In this regard, Japan has many weapons that are not cost-effective. For example, a Japanese rifle costs 2.5 million won, while a K2 rifle costs 600,000 won, and a Japanese tank costs 9.8 billion won, while a K2 Black Panther costs 8 billion won.
Many believe that Japan cannot afford to wage war with other countries because its weapons systems are focused on defense and distribution of power due to conflicts with neighboring countries.
In particular, we can see the argument that the peace constitution makes it difficult to maintain stockpiles, which reduces the ability to sustain war. This problem is one of the reasons why Abe is trying to revise the constitution.
There are many articles in various places asking who would win if the US and Korea went to war. However, the possibility of the two countries going to war is slim at present, and if war were to occur, neither country would win.
Many people believe that even if a war breaks out, they will not land on each other because the damage will be too great.
In particular, the Japanese Army (Japan Self-Defense Forces) is weaker than ours, so if we attempt a landing operation, there is a high possibility that we will be isolated or completely destroyed. Also, since Japan will absolutely try to block the landing of the Korean Army, our country will not attempt a reckless operation either.
However, if we talk about our country’s advantages, it is that we possess missiles that can strike the Japanese mainland, and Tsushima Island is close by, so we can carry out landing operations.
The South Korean Navy has a relatively small maritime defense area, but it also has a strong naval force, making it difficult to attack. We have summarized South Korea’s defense budget in 2018, the current increase in South Korea’s military power, and Japan, which is the second most worrisome country after North Korea.
Since I lack knowledge about the military, I will continue to diligently refer to materials and organize them before writing articles. Thank you for reading my insufficient writing.
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