Changwon City Council Unanimously Calls for Retaining Korea Naval Academy in Jinhae

The Changwon Special City Council in Gyeongnam Province has called on the government to halt the integration of the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies and to keep the Korea Naval Academy in Jinhae.

On the 27th, the council held the 2nd plenary session of its 154th extraordinary meeting and unanimously adopted a proposal titled "Proposal to Stop the Hasty Integration of the Army, Navy, and Air Force Academies and to Retain the Korea Naval Academy in Jinhae." The proposal was sponsored by Assemblywoman Kilsun Kang of the People Power Party (covering Idong, Deoksan, Jaeun, and Pung-ho in Jinhae District).

Changwon Special City Council. [Photo by Changwon Special City Council]

Assemblywoman Kang stated, "The plan to relocate the Korea Naval Academy, which opened on January 17, 1946, as the first among the three military academies and has since produced more than 10,000 elite officers over the past 80 years, erases the spirit of Admiral Yi Sun-sin and the history of the Republic of Korea Navy that have accumulated in Jinhae, along with the pride of Jinhae residents."

She continued, "For naval cadets, practical training aboard vessels, navigation exercises, and maritime survival training are essential. Moving the academy to Daejeon, an inland city with no access to the sea, is nothing more than a bureaucratic measure that would significantly weaken the Navy's combat capabilities."

"The government justifies the integration on the grounds of population decline and strengthening joint military operations, but these arguments turn cause and effect upside down," she emphasized. "In times of shrinking military personnel, cultivating highly skilled and specialized officers becomes even more vital. True jointness can only be achieved when each branch maintains its own identity and expertise."

She also criticized the government for its unilateral actions, saying, "The decision to relocate the academy without gathering any public opinions ignores the residents of Jinhae District, who have endured decades of military-related restrictions for national security and have embraced the Navy as family."

Kilsun Kang, a member of the Changwon Special City Council in Gyeongnam Province, is presenting a proposal as the representative at the 2nd plenary session of the 154th extraordinary meeting.
[Photo by Changwon Special City Council]

Assemblywoman Kang added, "No maritime power in the world locates its naval academy inland or relocates it inland. To preserve the professionalism of the Navy and the identity of Jinhae as a naval port city, the Korea Naval Academy must remain in Jinhae."

She stressed, "The future of the Navy and national security should not be determined by short-term administrative expediency, but with a vision for the next hundred years of the Republic of Korea."

On this day, the members of the city council, through their official statement, called for: ▲ the withdrawal of the hasty integration of the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies; ▲ the complete reversal of any plans to relocate the Korea Naval Academy and confirmation that it will remain in Jinhae; ▲ and an official apology for the unilateral push without gathering residents' opinions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.