“Which branch’s weapon is a drone—the Army, Navy or Air Force?” President Lee doubles down on integrating military academies

[Financial News] On the 12th, President Lee Jae-myung reiterated the case for pursuing an integrated armed forces academy for the Army, Navy and Air Force, saying, “As the battlefield changes, the way we train officers must change as well.”
President Lee shared on X (formerly Twitter) a post by Defense Ministry spokesperson Jeong Bit-na about the state of integrated military academies in major countries, and made the remarks that day.
President Lee asked rhetorically, “Which branch’s weapon could a drone be said to be—the Army, Navy or Air Force?” He noted a defining feature of modern warfare, saying, “Drones, lasers and robots already cross the boundaries between land, sea and air.”
He added, “The key to integrating the military academies is to cultivate talent who will lead future warfare,” and pledged to press ahead, saying, “The government will build an armed forces academy best suited to South Korea’s security environment.”
President Lee’s message is seen as a signal that he intends to confront head-on the calls for caution about integrating the military academies that have recently emerged in some parts of the political sphere.
Earlier, the office of People Power Party lawmaker Kim Sang-hoon, citing material from the National Assembly Research Service, pointed out that 10 major countries—including the United States, China and Russia—with standing forces of more than 200,000 operate separate military academies. The Ministry of National Defense promptly rebutted the claim, saying that 11 of the 30 countries worldwide with at least 200,000 personnel operate integrated military academies.


[email protected] Park Ji-hyeon Reporter