Two Faces of Opposition to Korea National Military Academy: Unhinged Veterans vs. Rational Cadets [Reporter's Notebook]

The public hearing on the establishment of the Korea National Military Academy, held the day before yesterday (the 26th) at the National Defense Convention Center in Yongsan, Seoul, was extremely chaotic. Retired military personnel and opposition lawmakers who oppose the government's plan to integrate the service academies and establish the Korea National Military Academy engaged in unseemly behavior, including shouting profanities, raising their voices, occupying the podium, and jeering. Retired soldiers who participated as debaters for the opposition side were no different, raising their voices and turning red in the face.

Those with military backgrounds should know well that whether in offense or defense, military operations require passion drawn from a foundation of calmness and composure to expect victory. Discussions and debates are no different. To seize the initiative, one must deliver incisive arguments with weight and cool-headedness. However, at the public hearing the day before yesterday, the opponents of the Korea National Military Academy committed a tactical blunder, losing their composure and running wild despite almost all of them being former military personnel.


A few Korea Military Academy cadets who attended the public hearing were different. They calmly expressed their opposition in trembling voices. The student has surpassed the master. The oldest attendee, former Minister of National Defense Yoon Kwang-oong, also quietly laid out arguments against the plan. It was highly persuasive. If retired military personnel with academy backgrounds want to win this battle over the integration of the academies, they must emulate the attitude shown by the cadets and former Minister Yoon the day before yesterday.
  As everyone learns in elementary school, events like public hearings and debates have rules. Anyone attending can speak, but they must do so when given the opportunity during the allotted speaking time. Even if unacceptable, one must show the formal courtesy of listening to the opposing side's views before providing a rebuttal. Instructions from the chair and moderator must also be strictly followed.

These rules were ignored from start to finish at the public hearing on the establishment of the Korea National Military Academy the day before yesterday. As the event attempted to screen a video illustrating the necessity of the establishment as its first order of business, a retired soldier identifying himself as a general rushed forward. Pouring out loud voices and profanities, he sat down on the podium and blocked the screening. Watching the video would neither cement the argument for establishment nor weaken the argument against it, yet he intervened recklessly.


Next, the president of the Korea Military Academy Alumni Association gave a welcoming speech as the representative of the general alumni associations of the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies. He did not hide his emotions and dragged out his time. Although the event should have moved on to the next order, retired personnel from the Navy and Air Force academies successively snatched the microphones and spoke. While Kim Hong-chul, Director General for National Defense Policy, was giving a policy briefing, People Power Party lawmaker Han Ki-ho interrupted with a booming voice out of the habit he formed in the National Assembly, and as soon as the policy briefing ended, retired personnel rushed for the microphones demanding to have a word.

Even after being pulled apart with great difficulty to move on to the debate, the opponents did not change. Amid continuous jeers and screams from the opposition, the words of the opposition debaters also prioritized emotion over reason. They persisted with petty tactics, such as asking questions without giving a chance for answers and nitpicking. While the opponents might have felt a sense of catharsis among themselves, it seemed difficult to win any persuasion.
  The oldest attendee at the public hearing the day before yesterday was likely former Minister of National Defense Yoon Kwang-oong, born in 1942. He took the microphone during the Q&A session. In a calm tone, he presented his opposition, stating, "If the military academies are integrated and a core officer corps is produced from a single school, it could rather pose a threat to civilian control," and "To ease the president's political burden, the minister should honestly communicate with the president and postpone the push to integrate the military academies." Though spoken in the softest voice, it was the most memorable argument against the plan.


Towards the end of the public hearing, the youngest attendees, the academy cadets, were given a chance to speak. They calmly presented fresh opposition arguments, asking, "What is the evidence that the current military academies fail to form an identity as Republic of Korea military officers?" and noting, "Cadets do not mind the aging academy facilities." The opponents gave them thumbs-up and applause.

At the public hearing the day before yesterday, the opponents glared fiercely and said countless things in loud voices, but the only thing left behind was the unseemly behavior of the retired soldiers. Thanks to former Minister Yoon Kwang-oong and the cadets, they barely saved face. If they wish to block the integration of the academies and the establishment of the Korea National Military Academy, the opponents will need to regroup by emulating the attitude of former Minister Yoon and the cadets.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.