The Republic of Korea Marine Corps' share of defense capability improvement spending in the 2026 defense budget stands at just 3.0% of the total, raising concerns that the corps remains sidelined despite President Lee Jae-myung's pledge to reorganize it as a quasi-fourth service.
President Lee made the reorganization of the Marine Corps — designated as a national strategic mobile force — into a quasi-fourth service one of his presidential campaign promises and key state agendas. But budget allocations have yet to reflect that priority.
According to a Seoul Economic Daily analysis on Wednesday of the 2026 defense capability improvement budgets disclosed by the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, the Marine Corps was allocated 599.1 billion won, or just 3.0% of the total. Marines account for about 5.8% of the country's authorized military personnel, meaning their budget share is only slightly more than half of their troop ratio.
Among the four services, the Army received the largest defense capability improvement budget for 2026 at 7.2827 trillion won (33.7%), followed by the Air Force at 5.4894 trillion won (27.4%), the Navy at 4.4972 trillion won (22.5%), and the Marine Corps at 599.1 billion won (3.0%). While total defense capability improvement spending — funds invested in building future military strength — rose 11.9% from 2025, only the Navy and Marine Corps saw decreases.
The Marine Corps' share of defense capability improvement spending over the past four years stood at 452.4 billion won (3.2%) in 2023, 553.7 billion won (3.1%) in 2024, 643.2 billion won (3.6%) in 2025, and 599.1 billion won this year. Ironically, the Lee Jae-myung administration, which is pushing the Marine Corps' quasi-fourth service reorganization, sharply cut the corps' defense capability improvement budget in its first year.
The Navy's share over the same period was 4.3358 trillion won (25.6%) in 2023, 4.3980 trillion won (25.0%) in 2024, 4.5261 trillion won (25.5%) in 2025, and 4.4972 trillion won (22.5%) in 2026. Among the three branches in Korea's traditional Army-Navy-Air Force structure, the Navy was the only service whose defense capability improvement budget declined.
Marines Also Sidelined in Defense Capability Talent Pool
By contrast, the Army's share over the past four years was 5.9879 trillion won (23.0%) in 2023, 6.5319 trillion won (24.3%) in 2024, 6.6594 trillion won (24.3%) in 2025, and 7.2827 trillion won (33.7%) in 2026. Backed by the largest authorized troop ratio at over 70%, the Army's defense capability improvement budget has continuously grown, rising 10.7% over the past four years.
Among the three services, the Air Force saw the largest jump in defense capability improvement spending. Its share over the past four years was 2.6112 trillion won (15.5%) in 2023, 3.1242 trillion won (17.7%) in 2024, 3.9435 trillion won (22.1%) in 2025, and 5.4894 trillion won (27.4%) in 2026 — an increase of 11.9% over four years, the largest gain.
The Marine Corps, designated as a national strategic mobile force, is sidelined not only in budget but also in the talent pool for force enhancement. Among active-duty acquisition officers at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration who oversee force buildup for each service, the Army has two brigadier generals and the Navy and Air Force each have one. The Marine Corps, however, does not have a single active-duty officer even at the colonel level.
Yoo Yong-won, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, said, "The Marine Corps is sidelined in every force enhancement project due to a lack of cost-effectiveness stemming from its small force size." He added, "As the Marine Corps is a core element of the Korean military that, alongside the push for a quasi-fourth service system, devotes itself to the safety of the nation and its people on the front lines of national defense, budget allocation commensurate with that role is needed."
Yoo also pointed out, "Because of the budget marginalization, defense companies have not prioritized developing weapons systems for the Marine Corps, leading to many difficulties in force enhancement, including delays in the Marine Corps' manned-unmanned combined combat system and amphibious platform development." He added, "The Ministry of National Defense should join hands with defense industry-related institutions to provide policy support for strengthening capabilities and give top priority to expanding the Marine Corps' budget."
