Alumni leaders of 3 military academies reiterate opposition to integrated academy plan

SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap-Join Press Corps) -- The alumni groups of the Army, Navy and Air Force academies on Monday reiterated their opposition to the government's push to integrate the academies into a single institution, calling for scrapping the plan.

The move comes as the Lee Jae Myung administration seeks to establish a single military academy to enhance joint interoperability and address personnel shortages in the military.

"We think the government-led plan to build an (integrated) military academy is not a merger, but a plan to close down the school (of each military academies)," Park Pan-joon, president of the Korea Military Academy Alumni Association, said during a meeting with Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul

"The government claims the integration plan is aimed at enhancing joint operational capabilities and fostering talent, but I want to sincerely ask whether abolishing respective academies is the only way to maintain expertise and seek integration," Park said

The defense chief hosted the meeting with the leaders of the alumni associations of the three military branches as part of efforts to gather public opinion before announcing the final integration plan.

The government initially planned to disclose a detailed road map for the integration last month, but the announcement has been pushed back amid strong backlash from graduates and alumni groups, who claimed the move will weaken the individual capabilities of each military branch.

The ministry was considering a plan to establish the tentatively named "National Military Academy" at Jaundae, a compound of military training and education facilities in Daejeon, about 140 kilometers south of Seoul, for a full four-year education program.

Kang has hinted at partly revising the plan since taking office in September, while expressing his commitment to carrying on with the integration itself.

"The defense ministry is currently supplementing the plan to establish the National Military Academy to foster elite officers to lead future warfare," ministry spokesperson Chung Binna told a press briefing.

She declined to elaborate on whether the government was reviewing a different approach to the integration plan, which reportedly involves having cadets receive education at the newly built academy for two years in between the four-year school year, while leaving each military academy intact.