Undisbursed defense budget for 2025 to be executed this week: Ministry

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Published: 06 Jan. 2026, 13:58 Updated: 06 Jan. 2026, 14:45

This file photo shows the logo of the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Jan. 2. [NEWS1]

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Tuesday that portions of last year's defense budget that were not disbursed by the end of 2025 will be executed as swiftly as possible.

The announcement came amid controversy over the failure to pay about 1.3 trillion won ($899 million) in defense-related expenditures to military units and defense contractors by the end of last year.

"Among the 2025 expenditure budget items, spending that could not be executed will be carried out as quickly as possible within this week," the ministry said in a press release.

The ministry added that it is holding consultations with the Defense Ministry and other relevant ministries based on what is known as "January revenue."

The term refers to tax and other revenue for the 2025 fiscal year that is legally deposited into the state treasury by the second business day of 2026, which fell on Monday.

Yonhap