Despite Defense Budget Exceeding 70 Trillion Won, Troop Welfare Retreats... 50 Billion Won Cut from Barracks Improvement Budget (Comprehensive)

Ministry of National Defense Requests 286 Billion Won for Barracks Project

Budget Cut by 15% Due to Low Execution Rate

Construction of Two-to-Four-Person Rooms Delayed After COVID-19

The budget for improving military barracks for service members next year is expected to be cut by more than 50 billion won compared to this year. Although the national defense budget is about to exceed 70 trillion won for the first time ever, the barracks improvement project has been included in the government's spending restructuring targets. As a result, plans to demolish outdated and cramped dormitories and replace them with rooms for two to four people are likely to face delays.

According to relevant ministries on August 24, the Ministry of National Defense requested a budget of 285.978 billion won for next year's barracks improvements from the Ministry of Planning and Budget. This is a reduction of 50.466 billion won (15%) from this year's original budget of 336.444 billion won. Among existing fiscal projects requested by the Ministry of National Defense, this was the largest cut requested by the planning office. Previously, in the integrated fiscal review, the planning office recommended budget cuts for 30 out of 109 total fiscal projects managed by the Ministry of National Defense, and the ministry reflected this recommendation by reducing its request for the barracks improvement budget.

The barracks improvement project, launched in 2003 as a key policy under the Participatory Government, aimed to replace or renovate aging and cramped barracks to guarantee the basic rights of service members and boost morale. In particular, following the COVID-19 pandemic, issues were raised with the previous structure of 8-12 person rooms, where 50 to 70 soldiers shared sinks and toilets, due to their vulnerability to infectious diseases. In response, the Ministry of National Defense promoted an improvement plan to reduce room occupancy to two to four people and expand the living space per person from 6.3㎡ to 10.78㎡. The new design incorporates sinks, showers, and toilets within living quarters to ensure privacy and enables each living unit to function as a cohort quarantine room if necessary.

The project’s full-scale implementation caused a significant increase in related budget allocations. The budget jumped from 133.040 billion won in 2022 to 355.251 billion won in 2023. This was followed by 311.859 billion won in 2024 and 270.295 billion won allocated for 2025.

On the 20th, soldiers who completed the Korea-U.S. combined arms cooperative river crossing training at Seogeunso Training Ground near the Imjingang River in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, are crossing a combined pontoon bridge. 2025.03.20 Photo by Joint Press Corps

The background for the planning office’s recommendation to cut next year's barracks improvement budget was its low budget execution rate. The average execution rate over the past three years was only 76.6%. Although the rate rose from 65.3% in 2023 to 87.2% in 2024, it fell again to 77.3% this year. A Ministry of Planning and Budget official pointed out, "Ongoing delays in design and contracting due to changing field conditions, delays in coordination with other agencies, and construction stoppages during winter have led to continual postponements each year, preventing the execution rate from improving."

The medium-term fiscal plan set by the Ministry of National Defense for 2025 to 2029 had earmarked 527.28 billion won for barracks investment in 2027. The latest budget request of 285.978 billion won is just a bit more than half of the originally planned amount. The gap between the medium-term plan and the actual requested budget has thus widened. Separate from the issue of the slow pace of implementation, concerns are rising that the reduction in budget will inevitably slow down the barracks environment improvement.

A Ministry of National Defense official stated, "The project to improve rooms into two-to-four-person units is proceeding without delay," adding, "We will continue to upgrade old and cramped barracks into rooms for two to four people to improve conditions for our service members." The official also said, "We will ensure projects are appropriately reflected in the budget through thorough adequacy reviews, and we will strive to improve the execution rate by streamlining administrative procedures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.