[Anchor]
Minister of National Defense Ahn Kyu-baek has reiterated his commitment to the government's key initiative of integrating the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies. Amid strong opposition from retired military personnel, a parliamentary petition calling for the impeachment of Minister Ahn has surpassed 250,000 signatures.
Defense correspondent Kim Taehun reports.
[Reporter]
Minister of National Defense Ahn Kyu-baek addressed the difficulties of defense reform, including the dissolution of the Defense Counterintelligence Command and the integration of military academies, at a meeting of major military commanders held at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan, Seoul, today (July 1).
[Ahn Kyu-baek/Minister of National Defense: I am once again keenly aware that reform is more difficult than revolution.]
In particular, following a directive issued yesterday, he emphasized the need for the swift implementation of the integration of the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies again at today's commanders' meeting. The integration proposal was sparked after the Korea Military Academy was identified as the root of the illegal martial law declaration on December 3.
He argued that strengthening the joint operations of the Army, Navy, and Air Force is necessary to respond to modern warfare.
[Ahn Kyu-baek/Minister of National Defense: If we do not cultivate officers and talent capable of designing drone warfare and conceptualizing AI-based operational systems now, then after 2040...]
The Ministry of National Defense's integration plan involves establishing a new national military university. Under this plan, cadets would receive general education and foundational studies regardless of their military branch during their first and second years, followed by military training and specialized education at their respective academies during their third and fourth years.
However, the backlash is significant.
A parliamentary petition calling for Minister Ahn's impeachment, labeling the plan as half-baked defense reform, surpassed 250,000 signatures in less than two weeks, and the People Power Party has made the dismissal of the Minister its official party platform.
The alumni associations of the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies are planning to hold a protest against the integration of the academies in front of the National Assembly on July 8.
[Song Cheol-soo/Official of the Korea Military Academy Alumni Association: (The Ministry's integration plan) looks hasty from any angle, and because it appears to be benchmarked after the Japan Self-Defense Forces, it feels somewhat pro-Japanese, which is quite unpleasant.]
Even within the Ministry of National Defense, there are concerns that the pace of pushing for the integration of the military academies is too fast.
Reported by Kim Taehun | Video by Kim Hyun-sang | Video Editing by Jung Seong-hun
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