Unified Military Academy Hearing Descends into Chaos Amidst Shouts and Insults

A public hearing on the South Korean Ministry of Defense's plan to establish a unified Korean Military Academy descended into shouting and insults on Tuesday. Opponents of the unification, largely from retired military associations, disrupted the event held in Seoul, calling proponents of the plan derogatory names and demanding the defense minister's appearance.

The hearing, the first since the ministry announced its basic plan for a unified academy in July, was intended to present the details of the proposal. However, minutes before the start, an attendee demanded the presentation be skipped to allow more time for Q&A, drawing cheers from the audience. Despite repeated requests for calm from the moderator, the retired military groups continued their outbursts.

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Bring Kyu-baek (Defense Minister An Kyu-baek) here.

Proponents, including a university professor, faced verbal abuse, with one attendee shouting, "Are you working as Lee Jae-myung's errand boy?" and "Are you even a professor?" Another attendee stood up and yelled, "Bring Kyu-baek (Defense Minister An Kyu-baek) here." The escalating chaos led one participant to criticize the group as "thugs causing a scene," which was met with a vulgar retort, escalating the exchange of insults.

Park Pan-jun, chairman of the Korean Military Academy Alumni Association, took to the stage, arguing, "The government trying to shut down the military academy is the thug, not the alumni expressing their anger." The ministry's plan involves a four-year undergraduate program at a unified academy in Daejeon, with integrated education for the first two years and specialized training in the final two. The hearing included panels for both proponents and opponents, with approximately 300 attendees.

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The government trying to shut down the military academy is the thug, not the alumni expressing their anger.