About 2,350 cadets from first through fourth year to participate

Results to be made public after review

A joint commissioning ceremony for graduates of the Army, Navy and Air Force academies is held in February 2026. [Yonhap]
A joint commissioning ceremony for graduates of the Army, Navy and Air Force academies is held in February 2026. [Yonhap]

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense launched an online survey Friday to gather cadets' opinions as part of efforts to refine its basic plan for establishing a unified national military academy.

A Defense Ministry official told reporters that day the survey would run for five days, from Friday through Wednesday, targeting approximately 2,350 first- through fourth-year cadets at the Army, Navy and Air Force academies. About 140 fourth-year Naval Academy cadets currently on an ocean training voyage were unable to participate.

The survey consists of four open-ended questions: what improvements are needed to strengthen the academies' educational capabilities; what essential elements must be preserved to maintain each service's traditions and specialized expertise; whether cadets would apply to a graduate program if one were established and what field of study they would prefer; and what factors should be considered in creating a unified national military academy.

To protect the anonymity of participating cadets, KIDA will collect the survey results and pass on to the Defense Ministry only data with personal identifying information removed. The ministry plans to release a comprehensive analysis of the findings to the public.

Earlier, Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul pledged at a cadet forum Tuesday to conduct a survey of all cadets and make the results public, saying their views were "the most important."


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