The escalating tensions with North Korea and China's growing assertiveness have compelled South Korea to enhance its military capabilities and preparedness, such as investing in new weapons systems, expanding military personnel, and strengthening cybersecurity infrastructure. Against this backdrop, the country's defense budget is forecast to increase to $52.1 billion in 2028, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest report, “South Korea’s Defense Market Size and Trends, Budget Allocation, Regulations, Key Acquisitions, Competitive Landscape and Forecast, 2023-28,” reveals that South Korea’s defense budget witnessed a dip of 10.5% from $48.3 billion in 2022 to $44.2 billion in 2023. However, the country is expected to invest a total of $73.5 billion over the period 2024-2028 as acquisition budget to modernize the current inventory.