People Power Party lawmakers on the National Assembly's National Defense Committee attend a rally against the merger of the Army, Navy and Air Force academies on Wednesday. From left: Reps. Han Ki-ho, Kang Seon-yeong, Yoo Yong-won and Im Jong-deuk. [Provided by the Air Force Academy Alumni Association]
People Power Party lawmakers on the National Assembly's National Defense Committee attend a rally against the merger of the Army, Navy and Air Force academies on Wednesday. From left: Reps. Han Ki-ho, Kang Seon-yeong, Yoo Yong-won and Im Jong-deuk. [Provided by the Air Force Academy Alumni Association]

Rallies opposing the government's plan to merge the Army, Navy and Air Force academies into a single institution have continued for several months.

The National Coalition to Stop Military Academy Closures held a rally Saturday at the west plaza of Daejeon Station, denouncing the plan and declaring that "naval and air force officers cannot be properly trained without access to the sea and a runway." The group said the proposed merger "ignores the history and specialized expertise of each branch and weakens national security," and urged the government to start over from scratch.

The Ministry of National Defense plans to relocate military units and educational institutions currently based at Jaundae in Daejeon, then establish a unified Korea Armed Forces Academy in their place.

The coalition has been campaigning against the merger since its launch on Aug. 21. At the founding press conference, co-chair Kim Tae-woo, a former head of the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the group would "thoroughly expose the unconstitutionality and dangers of the government policy and bring them to the attention of the public."

Fellow co-chair Lee Hee-beom, chairman of the NGO General Federation, said "national defense belongs not to any administration but to all citizens," and called on the government to "immediately stop this reckless security gamble that puts people's lives and the nation's survival at stake."

The coalition includes more than 50 veterans' organizations, among them the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps retired colonels' associations, the reserve field-grade officers' association, the ROTC Central Council, the alumni associations of all three academies, the Class A Officers Veterans' Association and the bachelor officers' alumni association.


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