South Korean President Lee Jae-myung yesterday vowed to sharply increase defense spending and build a more self-reliant military.
Lee told an Armed Forces Day ceremony in Seoul that he intended to build a strong military that can independently defend the country from external threats.
“We should move toward a strong, self-reliant defense, based on our pride and confidence in our military power,” he said. “To ensure peace and prosperity for the Republic of Korea [ROK], we must not depend on anyone else, but strengthen our own power.”
Photo: AFP
To boost a self-reliant defense posture, Lee said his government would increase next year’s defense spending by 8.2 percent to introduce advanced weapons systems such as artificial intelligence combat robots, autonomous drones and precision-guided missiles.
The government would also foster the defense industry, and improve soldiers’ welfare by upgrading their service conditions and compensation systems, he said.
Lee made no direct mention of North Korean military threats, although he said that South Korea’s spending on defense is 1.4 times more than the North’s GDP.
A potentially sensitive issue for South Korea’s alliance with the US is the implementation of an agreement to transfer wartime operational control of the allied forces to a binational command led by a South Korean general with a US deputy.
The commander of the US forces in South Korea has wartime operational control of South Korea’s military.
Many South Koreans view reclaiming their own military’s wartime operational control as a matter of national sovereignty, but others worry that it would result in a loosening of the alliance with the US.
Lee reaffirmed his support of the transfer.
“The Republic of Korea will lead a joint defense posture with Washington by regaining the operational control based on firm ROK-US alliance,” he said. “Solid combined defense capability and posture will not only bring peace and stability to the Korean Peninsula, but also contribute to the region’s stability and shared prosperity.”
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
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