Alumni groups of Army, Navy, Air Force rally against gov't push to unify military academies

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Alumni associations of the Army, Navy and Air Force military academies on Wednesday called on the government to "immediately" halt its push to integrate the academies of the three military branches and scrap the plan.

The alumni groups comprising graduates of the military academies made the call at a rally in front of the National Assembly, insisting the government was "hastily" pushing for the integration plan without an objective review or sufficient public debate.

The move comes as the Lee Jae Myung government seeks to unify the military academies into a single institution as part of efforts to pool talented future cadets amid a demographic cliff and better respond to evolving warfare.

The drive for the tentatively named "National Military Academy" has faced strong opposition from the armed forces arguing that each military service requires specialized training tailored to their distinct operational environment.

The alumni groups also urged the government to halt its plan to relocate the Korea Military Academy, currently located in northern Seoul, to Jangseong County in South Jeolla Province.

"Our call and plea today are not about the interests of any particular group," it said, noting their claims were grounded on concerns over national security and the future of the armed forces.