Lee calls for military academy reform to prevent future coups

President Lee Jae Myung has asserted that South Korea's military academies require significant reform, directly linking them to the nation's history of coups and suggesting integration is necessary to prevent future insurrections. Lee specifically criticized the Korea Military Academy (KMA), accusing its alumni of being central to all three military coups in the country's history and highlighting their continued influence despite these events.

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How many times have we had military coups d’état in the Republic of Korea to date? Haven’t we seen cases where separate groups are established to train [officers], with a specific set of officers establishing overwhelming control over the military over a long period of time, carrying out occasional coups and dividing the country, only for no one to take responsibility?

"How many times have we had military coups d’état in the Republic of Korea to date?" Lee questioned during a report by the Ministry of National Defense. He pointed to instances where officer training groups established overwhelming control, leading to coups and national division, yet no one was held accountable. Lee believes integrating the academies would diminish the potential for such power consolidation and the formation of exclusive "cartels" among alumni.

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Wouldn’t that possibility decrease somewhat if [the academies] are integrated?

Lee cited the May 16, 1961, and December 12, 1979, coups, as well as the December 3, 2024, insurrection attempt, all spearheaded by KMA alumni. He emphasized that despite these actions undermining the constitutional order, KMA graduates continue to hold dominant positions within the military. The president urged the Minister of National Defense to proceed "promptly, forcefully, and quickly" with the establishment of a unified four-year armed forces academy.

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In this country, nearly all the senior generals came out of the KMA. Despite the fact that they have carried out no fewer than three military coups d’état to date, destroying the very constitutional order, they still hold an overwhelming position.

The Ministry of National Defense had previously announced plans to integrate the KMA, Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy into a single institution at Jaundae in Daejeon. This initiative aims to enhance future warfare preparedness and inter-branch cooperation. However, the plan has faced criticism, with some KMA alumni viewing the integration as retaliatory for the recent insurrection attempt. The ministry has maintained that the reform is unrelated to the incident and focused on modernization.

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If [the December 2024 insurrection attempt] had succeeded, we might have had a situation like in the old days, with Army captains sitting in rotating chairs and monitoring people from community centers.