Military Academy Alumni Criticize Government's Integration Plan

SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- An alumni association of the Army's military academy on Tuesday criticized the government for "hastily" pushing to integrate the academies of the three military branches, calling on the government to reconsider the move from scratch.

The Korea Military Academy Alumni Association expressed "deep" concerns about the Lee Jae Myung administration's push to establish an integrated military school comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force, citing the possible weakening of national security.

The group claimed the government was pushing to merge the three military academies and relocate them to the county of Jangseon in South Jeolla Province by 2028.

"The Korea Military Academy Alumni Association expresses deep concern over the weakening of national security that the government's current hasty plans will bring," it said.

"Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back does not know what he is doing, given his lack of experience in the military," Park Pan-joon, president of the association, said, adding the group is reviewing filing damages claims for the "hasty" integration that it claimed may neglect due process.

The association claimed the envisioned integration of the military academies could hinder the cultivation of expertise for cadets and lead to diminishing combat capabilities.

On claims that the current academic system hinders interoperability between the military branches, Shin Sang-kyun, a retired major general and a member of the association, stressed that combining the military academies amounts to the "standardization" of the military.

"(Integrating the military academies) is standardization, while interoperability is different armed services operating together," he told a press conference.

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back earlier said he was reviewing plans to allow freshmen and sophomores to take common courses regardless of their service, and juniors and seniors to take courses specialized to their military branches.

Ahn cited the declining number of talented individuals who enter the military academies and a drop in the commissioning rate for officers among reasons to create an integrated institution for cadets.