The population crisis in South Korea has serious consequences for the size of the military component. Defense of the country faces shortcomings and increasing risk.
The number of members of the South Korean armed forces has decreased by 20 percent to approximately 450,000 soldiers over the past six years. TASR reports this according to Sunday’s report Reuters.
South Korea’s army has been shrinking every year since the beginning of the 21st century, when it had approximately 690,000 soldiers. In 2019, only about 563,000 soldiers were active in active service. According to the Ministry of Defense, the army is currently missing approximately 50,000 units to maintain military readiness.
South Korea still has a large budget
In the period between 2019 and 2025, according to official statistics, the population of 20-year-old men fell by 30 percent to 230,000. Reuters states that at this age most men will undergo a medical examination and apply for an 18-month training program.
It is believed that the neighboring North Korea has approximately 1.2 million soldiers in active service, according to 2022 data. Nevertheless, the South Korea defense budget is larger (approximately $ 43.9 billion) than the estimated value of the entire North Korean economy.
South Korea has one of the fastest aging populations and the world’s lowest level of fertility. According to data from 2024, only 0.75 children were statistically per woman. In 2020, the country has historically reached the largest population (51.8 million), but according to government projections, the population is expected to fall to 36.2 million by 2072.
