KB News Desk
Tensions boiled over Wednesday at a government-hosted public hearing on its plan to consolidate the military academies, as their graduates and cadets blasted government officials as “gangsters” in protest of the plan.
The public hearing was the first such session to collect public feedback on the integration plan as part of the Lee Jae Myung government’s push to combine the military academies of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The government has cited changing modern warfare driven by artificial intelligence and a demographic cliff as key rationale to unify the military academies into a single institution.
However, the move has been met with fierce opposition from graduates of the military academies and some opposition lawmakers, who claim the plan is an attempt to undermine the Army over its involvement in two military coups in the past and the short-lived martial law imposition under former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The hearing turned into shouting matches even before it officially began, as angry retired officers booed and hurled insults at Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Kim Hong-cheol, a retired Air Force brigade general, as he took the podium as the main speaker.
“(The government) is pushing forward with the integration plan like a gangster takes care of its work,” said Park Pan-joon, the president of the Korea Military Academy alumni association. “I am certain, and I guarantee, that this plan cannot follow through,” he added.
The president of the naval academy’s alumni association also took the stage voicing opposition to the plan, saying the government was organizing the public hearing for the sake of “formality,” despite its solidifying the integration plan.
“Is the (defense ministry) attempting to move the train even if the dogs are barking?” Lee Bum-lin asked. “Dogs can bark, but they can also bite and rip,” he said, urging the defense minister not to become a “sinner of history.”
The event involved a debate involving three experts each from the supporting and opposition sides, followed by a Q&A session.
It brought together some 300 people, including defense ministry officials, cadets and graduates of the three military academies, as well as citizens.
The ministry initially planned to hold the public hearing earlier this month, but the plan was pushed back due to scheduling issues. (Yonhap)
