Soldiers defend the nation, its security and the safety of its people out of patriotism. At the same time, those with dependents are breadwinners supporting a household. In peacetime, they rely on state wages deposited monthly into bank accounts to provide for their families. But what happens to those payments once war breaks out?
The key variable is whether the financial payment network keeps running. If the network stays operational, the military pays wages into bank accounts as it does in peacetime. Should war collapse the system, however, payments shift to a different method — from bank transfers to cash.
Depending on wartime conditions, the defense minister can order that up to three months of base pay be paid in advance to families. Base pay here refers to the salary excluding the various allowances that make up total compensation. The total amount rises sharply, because a "combat duty allowance" is added, similar to hazard pay. The allowance is set at 30% of base pay.
The recipient also changes from the service member to the family. Families collect their payments at designated sites across the country, where officials verify family status before handing over envelopes of cash. Armed military police are deployed at these locations. One caveat: only family members registered in advance may collect the payment. Relatives who are not registered cannot receive it, even if they are immediate family.
Recipients must bring identification to verify family status, such as a national ID card, driver's license, passport or family relation certificate. If an unregistered family member must collect the payment because no alternative is available, it can still be done by submitting additional documents proving the family relationship, such as a family relation certificate. In such cases, duplicate payments can occur, and the accounts may be settled afterward.
The family wage recipient registration system allows a pre-registered family member to collect wages and pensions on behalf of a service member who cannot do so personally during wartime or a national emergency. Eligible registrants include the service member's spouse, lineal ascendants and descendants, and siblings. There is no limit on the number of people who can be registered.
Registration is straightforward. Service members log in to the Defense Pay Portal and enter basic information under the menu for registering wartime family wage recipients, found under pay management and pay inquiry. Family members registered as recipients can collect wartime wages and pensions through their unit's pay disbursement team in a contingency. As of June 2026, the registration rate for family wage recipients stood at about 92%.
The Armed Forces Financial Management Corps oversees all wage-related duties for service members in the event of war, including payments to families. Disbursements follow a wartime financial support plan. In wartime, the corps receives reallocated wage and pension budgets from each service branch and manages them as a single pool, ensuring that wages can be paid regardless of branch.
"The wartime financial support plan is a critical mission that secures the livelihoods of families, thereby boosting the morale of troops who risk their lives on the battlefield for their country, and ensuring the military's financial capacity to conduct operations," said Cha Jong-hee of the Armed Forces Financial Management Corps. "We will build a stable support system so that wartime wages and pensions reach families accurately."
