Seoul: A senior defense ministry official emphasized the urgency of establishing an integrated military academy to better prepare future officers for the post-wartime operational control (OPCON) transfer era. Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Kim Hong-cheol highlighted the need for a comprehensive education system during a policy briefing at the National Assembly.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim stated, "Now is the critical time to build an education system that prepares future cadets for future warfare, whether it takes some 10 years or longer to complete the new military academy." He further questioned the current academy's readiness to educate future generations should the OPCON transfer occur within a few years, declaring it as "insufficient."
The defense ministry recently unveiled a plan to establish an integrated military academy at Jaundae, a military training and education compound in Daejeon, approximately 140 kilometers south of Seoul. The new campus is projected to be completed by 2036.
Defense leaders from South Korea and the United States are anticipated to discuss a timeline for the OPCON transfer during the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Washington in October. Seoul aims to expedite the transfer within President Lee Jae Myung's term, ending in 2030, while the U.S. emphasizes meeting all conditions before setting a timeline.
In October, the defense ministry plans to release a detailed blueprint of the integration plan and aims to propose legislation for the unified military academy by December. The envisioned "National Military Academy" seeks to merge the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies to attract talented cadets amidst a demographic decline.
The proposed four-year education program will include branch-specific training in the latter years. However, the initiative has encountered strong opposition from alumni associations of the three military branches and opposition parties, who express concerns about potentially diminishing the expertise and competitiveness of each branch.