Gov't seeks to relocate Army academy out of Seoul, retain Air Force, Navy schools

The government is looking to relocate the Army academy out of Seoul while keeping the Navy and Air Force academies in place, sources said Wednesday, backtracking from its original plan to merge them into a unified military college.

The defense ministry recently briefed lawmakers on the plan to move the Korea Military Academy to the central-western region of Chungcheong, while retaining the Naval Academy in the southern coastal county of Jinhae and the Air Force Academy in the central provincial city of Cheongju, sources familiar with the matter said.

The latest proposal still calls for establishing a joint academy in the Jaundae military complex in the central city of Daejeon, about 140 kilometers south of Seoul, but likely at a smaller scale.

If finalized, the plan would mark a retreat from an initial July proposal to merge the three service academies into a single institution inside the Jaundae compound.

The revision comes after Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul signaled an adjustment to the initial framework, a move widely seen as a compromise in the face of strong pushback from alumni networks and key stakeholders.

Instead of a joint two-year basic curriculum followed by another two years of branch-specific training, the revised plan will adopt a so-called 1-2-1 model, where cadets complete shared coursework in their first and final years at the joint military academy, according to the sources.

Cadets will attend their respective academy for branch-specific training in their second and third years.

The government is reportedly considering moving the Korea Military Academy, currently located in northern Seoul, to a site in the administrative city of Sejong, home to the Army's 32nd Infantry Division.

Should the revised plan go forward, the government expects to roughly halve the consolidation budget from an estimated 3 trillion won ($2.25 billion).

The ministry also told lawmakers that it seeks to apply the new system starting with cadet applicants for the 2029 academic year.

The ministry said the consolidation plan has yet to be finalized.

"There is no change to the principle or commitment to establishing a joint military academy," the ministry said in a media note.

"We plan to finalize and announce a revised plan after gathering opinions from various quarters and take subsequent measures, without faltering and at pace," it said.

Alumni groups have denounced the planned integration as an attempt to weaken the core identity and capabilities of each military branch.

Army college graduates, in particular, have argued that it is a politically driven move by the Lee Jae Myung administration to curb the Army's influence over its involvement in past military coups and the short-lived Dec. 3 martial law attempt by former President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2024.