Defense minister defends push for unified military academy as fundamental for future

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Tuesday stood by the government's push to unify military academies into one single institution, calling it a "fundamental reform" that will help pool future cadets as the country experiences a demographic cliff and other trends.

Ahn made the call in a command letter to the leadership of the armed forces, following backlash over the Lee Jae Myung administration's drive to consolidate the academies of the Army, the Air Force and the Navy.

Debate is heating up, with retired top brass and alumni associations of the armed forces having joined forces to issue formal statements calling on the government to reconsider the campaign.

"I believe that everyone from the superintendents to the cadets is working harder than anyone else," the letter obtained by Yonhap News Agency read.

"However, fundamental reform is essential across the board, including for the visions and goals of the academies, their faculties, facilities and infrastructure, as well as the educational curriculum."

Ahn highlighted the need to bolster "jointness" among the military branches to hone the cadets' abilities through "learning and training together."

"We must instill jointness into our cadets by having them learn, train and think together from the very start of their academy education so that [unity] can further evolve in the fields," he wrote.

Ahn also pointed out that admission scores for military academies are declining, which he claimed reflects the academies' failure to convince aspiring cadets that such institutions are where they can realize their potential.

"We must expand the scale of our military academies to create a larger vessel for nurturing national talent," he added, noting that the integrated institution will provide a platform for cadets to build capabilities in advanced fields such as AI.

Yonhap