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The main gate of the Air Force Academy in Cheongju, which is expected to be relocated to Daejeon to consolidate operations following the government's announcement to establish a unified Armed Forces Military Academy. / Photo courtesy of Yonhap News Agency

Nearly half of the public favors the so-called "Armed Forces Military Academy Integration," which seeks to consolidate the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies, according to a recent survey. Conversely, nine out of ten cadets across the three service branches oppose the move, revealing a stark gap in perception between the general public and the military.

These findings were revealed in the results of a commissioned study titled "Research on Plans to Promote Military Academy Integration" by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), obtained by Asia Today on July 23.

In the survey, KIDA presented the "2+2 network integration" model—one variation of military academy consolidation—before asking for respondents' views. While the government initially pursued the 2+2 network model, it subsequently announced a plan to establish a unified four-year Armed Forces Military Academy at the Jaundae military complex in Daejeon. According to KIDA's survey of 1,000 members of the general public conducted in January and February, 49.1 percent favored military academy integration itself, while 29.9 percent remained neutral, and 21.0 percent opposed it.

In contrast, a survey of 1,791 academy cadets showed that only 3.4 percent favored the integration, 5.3 percent were neutral, and 91.3 percent opposed it. Among 1,677 commissioned officers, opposition also prevailed, with 18.5 percent in favor, 20.6 percent neutral, and 60.9 percent opposed. By commissioning background, Korea Military Academy (Army) graduates recorded the highest opposition rate at 84.1 percent. This was followed by Korea Air Force Academy graduates at 70.8 percent, Korea Naval Academy graduates at 58.7 percent, ROTC/Bachelor Officer/others at 55.5 percent, and Korea Army Academy at Yeongcheon (3rd Academy) graduates at 51.8 percent.

Regarding the 2+2 network integration model specifically, 83.7 percent of cadets opposed it, with only 5.8 percent in favor. Among commissioned officers, the gap narrowed significantly, with 31.7 percent in favor, 31.6 percent neutral, and 36.6 percent opposed.

Among the general public, however, 71.4 percent supported the network integration model, 21.8 percent were neutral, and 6.8 percent opposed it. High school students also leaned in favor, with 61.2 percent supporting, 30.0 percent neutral, and 8.8 percent opposing the model.

                                                                                                              Lee Han-sol