It is good to see the ROK military getting a significant pay increase, especially for those who choose to serve in frontline units:

South Korea plans to raise the annual salaries of entry-level military officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) at border units by up to 30 percent by 2027 from this year, the defense ministry said Sunday, amid a push to improve working conditions of troops.

The salary for a new staff sergeant stationed at a front-line unit will increase to 49 million won (US$37,190) in 2027, up 28 percent from this year, according to the ministry’s five-year welfare plan for service members.

The pay of a new second lieutenant at a border unit will rise to 49.9 million won in 2027, up 30 percent over the same period.

In ordinary units behind the front lines, a staff sergeant will see their annual pay increase to 37.6 million won in 2027, up 14 percent from this year, while a second lieutenant’s salary will rise to 39.1 million won in 2027, up 15 percent from this year.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

Hopefully the amount of artillery shells shipped from the ROK has not dangerously depleted their own reserves used in response to any contingency with North Korea:

South Korea’s “indirect” provision of 155-mm artillery shells for Ukraine this year has made it a larger supplier of ammunition for the war-ravaged country than all European countries combined, The Washington Post (WP) reported Monday.

In an article on Russia’s protracted war against Ukraine, the U.S. daily explained Washington’s effort to secure munitions from South Korea when the U.S.’ production of shells was barely more than a tenth of some 90,000 shells that Ukraine needed per month.

South Korean law prohibits providing weapons to war zones, but U.S. officials sought to persuade Seoul to provide munitions, estimating that about 330,000 155-mm shells could be transferred by air and sea within 41 days from Korea, according to the WP.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is an interesting acquisition choice by the ROK military:

 South Korea’s defense authorities on Monday chose Brazilian company Embraer’s C-390 for the Air Force’s new large transport aircraft over contenders from aerospace heavyweights Lockheed Martin and Airbus.

The Defense Project Promotion Committee selected the model for the 710 billion won (US$544.4 million) acquisition project set to run through 2026, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

The agency did not disclose the number of new aircraft to be introduced under the project, although South Korea is expected to purchase three units.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if President Biden realizes this is a South Korean owned company or not manufacturing these wind turbines in Colorado?:

U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned a Colorado-based factory of a South Korean wind tower maker again on Monday, as he highlighted the outcomes of his economic policy to promote clean energy and create jobs. 

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Biden said that thanks to workers at a factory of CS Wind Corp. in Pueblo, the United States is “changing.” Biden toured the factory, the world’s largest wind tower manufacturer, on Wednesday as he is gearing up for reelection.

“Tony, because of workers like you and the hundreds of employees at CS Wind, America is changing,” Biden wrote, referring to Tony Salerno, production manager of CS Wind America.

“Instead of exporting jobs, companies from around the world are creating jobs here in America and exporting American-made products. We are moving,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.