Donald Trump recently asserted that South Korea avoided paying for US military costs until his term and that Joe Biden subsequently canceled those payments. However, evidence indicates these claims are false , including significant exaggerations regarding troop levels and financial contributions.
The 1991 origin of Special Measures Agreements
The assertion that South Korea provided no funding for the US military presence prior to the first Trump administration ignores decades of established diplomatic protocol. According to the report, South Korea has been contributing to these costs through Special Measures Agreements since 1991, establishing a long-term trend of shared financial responsibility for regional security.
Under a five-year deal negotiated by the Obama administration, South Korea committed to spending more than $800 million annually between 2014 and 2018. While a political leader may argue that such a sum was insufficient, the claim that the country was not paying at all is contradicted by these historical records.
The gap between 39,000 and 26,589 troops
Discrepancies also exist regarding the scale of the US military footprint in the region. Donald Trump claimed the US military presence in South Korea stood at 39,000 personnel, but the Pentagon provided a significantly lower figure. As reported, the Pentagon stated the actual number was 26,589 as of the end of March.
This gap of over 12,000 personnel suggests a pattern of inflation regarding the size of the US commitment . Such figures are critical not only for budgetary discussions but for the strategic perception of deterrence on the Korean Peninsula.
Why the $3 billion claim contradicts the 2019 agreement
One of the most striking inaccuracies involves the specific dollar amounts Donald Trump attributed to his negotiations. He claimed to have secured $3 billion in a single year, yet the 2019 Special Measures Agreement negotiated by his administration tells a different story. That specific deal resulted in an 8.2% spending increase, but the total remained under $1 billion.
Further claims that Donald Trump secured subsequent annual increases are also unsupported. While a narrow deal was reached in mid-2020 to provide $200 millin for South Korean employees of US forces—who had been placed on leave after the 2019 deal expired—this was a targeted payment rather than a systemic multi-year hike. Negotiations for a broader post-2019 agreement actually stalled due to demands for massive increases and remained unresolved when the administration changed.
The missing evidence for the 'rescinded' Biden order
The narrative that Joe Biden rescinded a cost-sharing order because South Korean officials convinced him that Donald Trump was a "bad person" lacks factual backing.. The report notes that the 2019 agreement had already expired by the time Joe Biden took office in January 2021, meaning there was no active order to rescind.
In reality, the Biden administration continued the trend of increasing contributions. Joe Biden signed two new agreements in 2021 and 2024, with the 2021 deal including a 13.1% spending increase from 2020 levels. This contradicts the claim that the current administration lowered the financial burden on Seoul.
Several specific points remain unverified or missing from the narrative. The source does not identify which specific South Korean diplomats or officials allegedly influenced Joe Biden, nor does it provide the specific documentation Donald Trump is referencing to arrive at the $3 billion figure.. Furthermore, the reporting only presents the factual debunking of the claims without providing a direct response from the Trump campaign regarding these specific numerical discrepancies.
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