Defense chief to meet heads of alumni groups of 3 military academies amid integration push

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back is scheduled to meet Wednesday with the heads of alumni groups from the Army, Navy, and Air Force military academies. The purpose of the gathering is to garner their backing for the government's ongoing efforts to consolidate the three academies into a single institution, as reported by the defense ministry.

Ahn will host discussions with the presidents of the alumni associations from the Korea Military Academy, the Republic of Korea Naval Academy, and the Republic of Korea Air Force Academy at the defense ministry complex in Seoul later in the day, according to the ministry.

This development follows a significant protest staged by the alumni groups, who vocally oppose the integration plan. They have called for the government to immediately suspend its push to merge the academies and to initiate a complete review of the proposal. The Lee Jae Myung administration maintains that the integration plan aims to bring together talented future cadets amidst a demographic challenge and to better equip the armed forces to respond to evolving warfare scenarios.

The proposed "National Military Academy" has encountered staunch resistance from the armed forces, each of which asserts that its personnel necessitates specialized training methodologies uniquely tailored to their respective military domains.