President Lee Jae Myung commented on the merging of the Army, Navy, and Air Force Academies, saying, “The Army Academy has been at the heart of three coups, but no one was ever held accountable.” He further questioned, “Is there any instance where a particular military branch takes over the military, splits the country, and faces no consequences?” and asked, “Wouldn’t combining them decrease such chances?” This indicated that the motive behind promoting the integration is to weaken the Army Academy.
The 5·16 coup was organized by the 8th graduating class of the Army Academy, while the 12·12 coup was led by the 11th class. It was challenging to deny the label “Army Academy coup.” Former President Kim Young-sam’s dissolution of the Hanahoe faction also came from similar concerns, and most citizens backed this action. The December 3 martial law was completely different in nature. It resulted from former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s outdated misjudgment, and except for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and a few others, most were unaware that martial law would be imposed until the day it happened. Army Academy graduates in security positions opposed the idea of martial law in the president’s presence, with some even blocking military movements. Most of those identified by the president as coup participants were considered involved in the martial law without understanding the reasons, following orders, and are now facing legal consequences. They became scapegoats because of the military’s strict requirement to obey orders unconditionally.
The president referred to the matter as an “Army Academy coup” prior to any conclusive legal decision. He mentioned that accountability is being attributed to the Army Academy in this context. The merger of the three military academies, which was promoted for unified operations, essentially acknowledged it as a move to disband the Army Academy. It has become clear that all the previously cited reasons were just excuses. If, as the president claimed, the “Army Academy controlled the military and split the country,” then graduates from the Navy and Air Force Academies should have backed the integration. However, last month, the alumni associations of the Army, Navy, and Air Force Academies jointly organized a protest against the rushed merger. A graduate from the Naval Academy remarked, “Establishing an integrated academy in Daejeon means telling them to raise ‘future Admiral Yi Sunsin’ while looking at the mountains.”
Many graduates of the Army Academy are presently safeguarding the nation on the front lines, even amidst the intense heat. To label the entire Army Academy as a “potential coup force” due to the actions of a few extremists during the martial law—what impact will this have on their motivation? Matters related to the military’s long-term future should not be quickly addressed based on political opinions.
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