46 Former Chiefs of Staff Strongly Urge Government to Reconsider Military Academy Integration

Former chiefs of staff from each branch of the military—totaling 46—have announced their position, strongly urging the government to reconsider the proposed integration of the three military academies.

In a statement on August 6, the group of former chiefs of staff said, "Even at this stage, the government should not pursue the physical merging of the military academies, but instead develop fundamental measures to foster the pride and honor of junior officers and to attract outstanding talent to the military."

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They went on to say, "The logic presented by the government for integration is inherently contradictory and inconsistent." The statement added, "Jointness cannot be achieved simply by providing education in the same location, and rather than saving costs, integration will actually require astronomical amounts of funding."

The group further criticized the government’s efforts, stating, "This push for integration is proceeding without a national consensus," and insisted, "Any approach that disregards the opinions of experts and public sentiment cannot be justified."

Additionally, they emphasized, "Generalizing the issue of political intervention by a small number of officers from a particular academy to all graduates—and putting forward integration as a solution—shows a misdiagnosis and an inappropriate prescription," adding, "Such efforts deepen concerns that academy integration is being pursued for political reasons."

Previously, President Lee Jaemyung was interpreted as encouraging the merger initiative during the Ministry of National Defense’s policy briefing the previous day, suggesting that, “If we integrate the academies, won’t the likelihood of such (coup) incidents decrease?”

The unified stance was reached when 26 of the former chiefs of staff met in person at the Air Force Hotel in Seoul. Including those who later agreed to sign the statement, a total of 46 former chiefs of staff joined the appeal—comprising 18 from the Army, 13 from the Navy, and 15 from the Air Force. Notable signatories include former Minister of National Defense Han Minkoo (Army), former Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeongdoo (Air Force), and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Won Inchul (Air Force).

The integration of the academies was a key campaign pledge and policy initiative of President Lee. Last month, the Ministry of National Defense announced the basic plan to establish a unified four-year "Korea Military Academy" that will combine the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies at Jaun-dae, Daejeon.

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