In the first stage, the curriculum of each military academy will be integrated, and in the second stage, the military academies that were operated under the direct control of the chief of staff of each military service will be converted to those directly under the Minister of National Defense, and the final integrated military academy will be launched. Some in the Ministry of Defense proposed a plan to first merge the Military Academy and the 3 Military Academies and then integrate the Naval Academy and Air Force Academy, but it is said that there was great concern during the advisory committee discussion that it could end up just merging the Military Academy and the 3 Military Academies.
To this end, the advisory committee determined that the current Military Academy Establishment Act should be revised or a new law should be enacted. This is because the current law stipulates that the Army, Navy, and Air Force each have military academies. A government official explained, “”I understand that they are aiming to enact related legislation next year.” He added, “The emphasis is on ensuring the stable operation of the integrated military academy by securing ‘legitimacy’ through legislation rather than speeding up integration.”
The Ministry of National Defense plans to announce its implementation plan as soon as possible after reviewing the advisory committee’s proposal. The National Planning Committee also presented the integration of military educational institutions as a national task, and Minister Ahn also announced during his personnel hearing that he would pursue the integration of military academies to strengthen the jointness of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. However, it is reported that opposition from each military, including the Army, has been so great that Minister Ahn recently expressed his difficulties regarding the military academy integration issue, calling it “”the most difficult problem.”