[Korea Times, Sept. 25] Defense ministry seeks 5.1% increase in next year's budget

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http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/09/205_120801.html

Defense ministry seeks 5.1% increase in next year's budget

09-25-2012 13:53

The defense ministry is seeking a 5.1 percent increase in its budget for next year mainly to expand welfare measures for service members, including an increase in wages, officials said Tuesday.

The ministry has formulated a 34.6 trillion won ($30.9 billion) budget for 2013, up from this year's 33 trillion won, and plans to submit that proposal to the National Assembly on Tuesday of next week for approval, officials said.

Of the total, 24.1 trillion won is set aside for troop maintenance, a 4.6 percent increase from this year's budget, and the remaining 10.5 trillion won is earmarked to improve defense capabilities, a 6.3 percent increase from this year, officials said.

A main focus of next year's budget increase is on improving barracks life, officials said.

The ministry plans to raise the monthly wage for conscripted service members, with the wage of corporals set at 112,100 won, up 14,600 won from this year, plus provide them with more socks, athletic shoes and other supplies, and set up more sports facilities.

On the combat front, the ministry set aside 6.7 billion won for a project to build a new advance naval base on Ulleung Island in the East Sea, the nearest land from the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo that Japan has laid claims to. 

The ministry plans to spend 352 billion won to build the base by 2015.

The budget for new arms projects, includes 4 billion won for a three-dimensional radar system aimed at early detection of artillery fire from North Korea, and 9.1 billion won for mid-range air-to-air guided missiles to be fired from F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets.

Another 4 billion won is set aside for the KF-X next-generation fighter jet project.

Some 1.3 billion won is earmarked to introduce better equipment for reservists, and the ministry also plans to provide them with bullet-proof helmets and gas masks.

All able-bodied South Korean men between 18 and 38 must serve about two years in the armed forces, depending on their branch of service, since the South remains technically at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. (Yonhap)