South Korea’s Army Shrunk by More Than 100,000 Troops in Six Years

The number of regular South Korean armed forces has fallen by 110,000 troops over the past six years.

Defense Blog reported the figures, citing a government report.

From 2019 to July 2025, the number of active-duty soldiers dropped from 563,000 to 450,000. The reduction reflects both the scale of army reform and the growing challenge of maintaining combat readiness.

During the restructuring, 17 divisions and other large units were disbanded or merged, significantly altering the structure of the ground forces.

The largest cuts took place in Gangwon and Gyeonggi provinces, located along the border with North Korea.

Analysts warn that the remaining units are forced to take on a wider range of defense tasks, raising questions about their operational readiness in the event of a crisis.

Another problem has been a nearly 50% decline in officer recruitment, making it harder to ensure long-term personnel stability.

The Ministry of National Defense cites South Korea’s record-low birth rate as the main reason for the reduction.

The agency acknowledges that the demographic challenge is structural and will worsen in the coming years.

Possible measures to mitigate the impact include expanding the recruitment of women, offering bonuses for short-term service and reducing the number of soldiers in non-combat roles.

However, experts doubt such steps will offset the long-term personnel shortage.

A senior Defense Ministry official, who asked not to be named, said modern weapons systems and training could partially compensate for the smaller army, but “technology cannot completely replace human resources.”