Ministry defends revision of military academy plan as efforts to increase public's acceptance

The Korea Times - Nov 12, 2026

The defense ministry said Thursday that a proposed revision to its original plan to merge the Army, Air Force and Navy academies into a unified institution is part of a process to increase public acceptance of the plan and its "completeness." The ministry recently briefed the National Assembly on the revised plan that calls for creating a joint military academy in the central city of Daejeon while retaining the academies of the Navy and Air Force in the southern county of Jinhae and the central city of Cheongju, respectively, and relocating the Army academy to the central Chungcheong region. It initially sought to consolidate the three academies into a unified school to strengthen inter-service cooperation and improve the efficiency of cadet education — a plan that drew opposition from academy alumni, opposition lawmakers, and residents of Jinhae and Cheongju. "(The revision) is part of a process to increase public acceptance of the policy and its completeness," Chung Binna, the ministry's spokesperson, said during a press briefing. "We will explain the revised plan once it is finalize

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