Merged military academy in Daejeon to train soldiers for high-tech operations

An artificial intelligence-generated aerial view of the proposed integrated military academy in Daejeon / Courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense

A government plan to integrate the country's Army, Navy and Air Force academies is taking shape, as a new campus in Daejeon is being eyed to train soldiers in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered all-domain military operations in preparation for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the Ministry of National Defense announced Thursday.

“We aim to nurture military officers who possess creative minds, interdisciplinary thinking, professional expertise and high technological literacy,” Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said during a briefing at the National Assembly on Thursday after his meeting with the DPK.

“The officers trained in the upcoming academy must lead the ROK-U.S. combined defense post-OPCON transition. To educate them for the future security environment, we need a new curriculum, elite faculty and advanced educational facilities.”

He explained that the Jaundae military compound in Daejon would be a fitting location for the planned academy due to its high concentration of tech-focused universities and research institutions, which will allow the new institution to build synergies with them.

“Located in Daejeon, Korea’s tech capital — surrounded by KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), the Agency for Defense Development and elite research labs; Korea Aerospace Research Institute; Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute; Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute — this new campus will unite the Army, Navy and Air Force academies into one state-of-the-art smart campus.”

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, left, discusses the government's plan of integrating the Army, Navy and Air Force academies during a briefing at the National Assembly, Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

He added that the curriculum will be tailored for each military branch, preparing them to lead AI-powered, all-domain operations spanning space, cyber and the electromagnetic spectrum to prepare for the fast changing warfare trend.

"Recent global conflicts show that the paradigm of warfare is shifting at an unprecedented speed. Today's warfare has evolved beyond the traditional domains of land, sea and air, now requiring the capability to govern multidimensional spheres such as space, cyber and the electromagnetic spectrum. Consequently, military academy education must be reorganized into a framework that equips future officers to successfully navigate future multidomain battlefields."

He also cited the need for efficient staffing of academy officials as among the reasons for the integration.

Currently, the academies are scattered throughout the country. The Army is located in Seoul while the Navy and the Air Force are located in South Gyeongsang Province and North Chungcheong Province, respectively. The three academies deploy seven generals —including three three-star generals who serve as academy superintendents — and approximately 3,000 support staff.

"With each academy enrolling only 700 to 1,000 students — the size of a single college department at an ordinary university — maintaining a support staff of roughly 3,000 to train 2,900 cadets requires an urgent need for structural reform," Ahn added.

"In the long term, we will develop the Armed Forces Academy into a national defense education hub — one that integrates the Armed Forces Nursing Academy, advanced high-tech academies on defense and multiple defense training courses such as ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) and the Officer Candidate School."

The defense ministry said details of the plan will be announced in October.

The DPK pledged to swiftly pass the legislation required to implement the integration plan.

Members of alumni of the Korea Army, Navy and Air Force academies stage a rally at the National Assembly in Seoul on July 8 in protest of the integration of the academies. Yonhap

A joint coalition of alumni from the Korea Military, Navy, and Air Force academies issued a statement on Thursday, denouncing the integration plan as a politically motivated scheme designed to erase the unique history and identity of each institution.

“Even though the goals could be achieved through large-scale facility investments, organizational restructuring, and institutional reforms while preserving the existing framework of each academy, shutting the academies down is a scheme to remove their history and tradition, and to erase their identities,” it said in a statement, adding that “(The integration is) an anti-public move that compromises national safety and breeds public anxiety over national security.”

It also criticized that relocating the academies to an inland region detached from the ocean and runways would hinder the quality of education, particularly for the Navy and the Air Force.

"They questioned how the Naval Academy could be expected to build a 'blue-water navy' and project power globally if it is moved to a landlocked location completely detached from the sea. Similarly, they asked how the Air Force Academy could inspire cadets to reach for space when confined to a dense, crowded campus that deprives them of both a runway and a clear view of the sky."