Overview

• Total spending is set at 728.0 trillion won for 2026, an 8.1% increase from this year’s proposal, following Cabinet approval for submission to the National Assembly.
• Research and development rises 19.3% to 35.3 trillion won and AI funding jumps to 10.1 trillion won within a 72 trillion-won innovation drive.
• Defense outlays are proposed at 66.29 trillion won, up 8.2%, to expand high-tech weapons programs and raise entry-level officer pay.
• The Foreign Ministry cuts official development assistance by about 22% to roughly 2.18–2.19 trillion won as funding shifts to engagement with the United States and China and other diplomatic priorities.
• To fund new priorities, about 27 trillion won in low-performing programs are trimmed as the government projects a 4.0% of GDP deficit and a debt ratio near 51.6%, with heavier bond issuance signaled.