Lee cites coup risk from Army elite, calls for swift integration of military academies

President Lee Jae Myung, center, speaks during policy briefings from the education and culture ministries at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday the Army academy has been behind all military coups in South Korea, while remaining largely unaccountable, calling for the swift integration of military academies to reduce the risk of another coup.

The president made the remarks while receiving policy briefings from the foreign, unification and defense ministries, as the government seeks to unify the academies of the Army, Navy and Air Force into a single institution.

Lee pointed out that graduates from the Korea Military Academy had been behind all of the country's military coups, but that the academy had not been held to account so far.

The president, in particular, noted the risk of another coup by Army elites, saying, "Can't they do it again in the future?"

"Is it acceptable to separate military branches and nurture them separately when one branch comes to overwhelmingly dominate the military, stages a coup that shakes the country and still remains unaccountable?" he said, adding that integrating the military academies could reduce the possibility.

Lee's remarks came as the defense ministry is seeking to establish an integrated military academy, a move that followed former President Yoon Suk Yeol's 2024 martial law declaration, which involved then Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, a Korea Military Academy graduate.