[Anchor]

A rally was held at the National Assembly today, July 8, by the alumni associations of the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies, along with lawmakers from the People Power Party, to protest the government's plan to consolidate the military academies. The Ministry of National Defense expects that public opposition will subside once the details of the consolidation plan are unveiled.

Kim Taehun reports.

[Reporter]

This morning, approximately 2,000 people—including retired officers from the Army, Navy, and Air Force academy alumni associations, People Power Party lawmakers, and members of security-focused organizations—gathered in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul.

More than 10 speakers took the microphone to demand a complete re-evaluation of the government's military academy consolidation plan.

[Park Pan-jun / President of the Korea Military Academy Alumni Association: (Consolidating the military academies) will not help strengthen joint operations, and it will certainly not help in recruiting top-tier cadets.]

[Na Kyung-won / People Power Party Lawmaker: Even when reforming educational systems, there is usually sufficient collection of opinions, yet this is being pushed as defense reform in just a few months...]

The Apartment Residents Association of Nowon-gu, Seoul, argued that if the Korea Military Academy is relocated from Nowon-gu to a provincial area and replaced with apartment complexes, the northern part of Seoul will face severe traffic congestion.

[Lee Sang-bae / President of the Nowon-gu Apartment Residents Association: The idea of building apartments here, a place filled with natural environments and cultural heritage, without any traffic measures is...]

While the Ministry of National Defense is monitoring the opposition, it anticipates that public understanding will improve once the consolidation plan is made public.

Although it has been reported that the plan involves a "2+2" model—two years of integrated education followed by two years of specialized training at each respective academy—the actual plan is said to be different. It is reported that the Ministry plans to recruit high-level faculty for the new Armed Forces Military University to provide education in cutting-edge fields such as semiconductors and AI.

A Ministry of National Defense official stated that the relocation site for the Korea Military Academy will not be Jangseong in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, as opponents have speculated, but a third location.

The official also added that the start date for the consolidation will be later than the 2028 academic year, which had been previously reported.

The Ministry of National Defense, which abruptly canceled the announcement of this plan on the morning of July 6, is expected to make the announcement next week.

Reported by Lee Seung-hwan | Video by Lee Seung-jin | Graphics by Seo Hyun-joong | Produced by SBS Digital News