The US and South Korea have reached a tentative new five-year cost-sharing agreement for US forces based in South Korea, with the deal set to safeguard the long-running alliance in the face of a potential victory by former President Donald Trump in November. Negotiations over the Special Measures Agreement, known as the SMA, have been strained in the past, with Trump demanding Seoul pay significantly more for the presence of US troops in the country. The current agreement expires at the end of 2025, but both sides felt urgency to finalize the deal prior to a possible second Trump administration.
Under the new agreement, South Korea will contribute KRW ($1.13 billion) to the cost of stationing US troops in Korea in 2026, representing an increase of 8.3% over the cost of 2025. This agreement will be in effect from 2026 to 2030 and needs to be approved by South Korea’s national assembly. Advocates emphasize the importance of a significant US troop presence in the Korean Peninsula to strengthen the alliance between the two countries and deter potential attacks from North Korea while countering China’s aggression in the region.
The urgency to complete the deal on the Korean side before the end of the year was due to concerns about potential criticism from Trump if the agreement was not reached. The current agreement has South Korea paying about $1 billion annually, which is an increase of roughly 13.9% over previous SMAs. The Trump administration initially asked South Korea to pay $4.7 billion a year during negotiations, a demand that caught officials off guard. However, after renegotiating with the Biden administration, the amount was significantly reduced.
Former US officials have warned South Korea against rushing towards an agreement, fearing that it could backfire if Trump were to return to the White House. Trump has previously stated that he believes South Korea is not paying enough based on the last agreement, prompting concerns about the implications of potentially harsher demands in the future. The Biden administration’s involvement in finalizing the new agreement, which went into effect in March 2021, allowed for changes that brought the deal to its current state.
