South Korea's 2027 defense budget tops 73 trillion won for the first time, with KF-21 funding more than doubled and first nuclear-submarine money

The Cabinet approved a 73.28 trillion won ($51 billion) defense budget for 2027 on September 1, 2026, an 8.2% increase from 67.7 trillion won in 2026 and the first time the total has crossed 70 trillion won. The force-improvement portion tied to the wartime operational control (OPCON) transfer rises to 21.3 trillion won from 18.6 trillion won, funding command-and-control upgrades, surveillance drones, and L-SAM long-range interceptors. KF-21 Boramae production funding jumps to roughly 3.3 trillion won from 1.4 trillion won, with an additional 150 billion won earmarked for follow-on production. Nearly 100 billion won is allocated for the first time to the Jangbogo-N nuclear-powered submarine program, covering initial design and nuclear-related reviews. Defense AI spending more than doubles to 361 billion won for drone swarms, attack drones, and counter-drone systems, and the number of full-time reservists nearly doubles from 3,700 to 7,000. Defense spending would reach 2.33% of GDP, still well short of the government's stated 3.5% target. The bill was submitted to the National Assembly on September 3.