Over 75% oppose merging military academies into single institution, poll shows

More than seven in 10 South Koreans oppose a plan to merge the Army, Navy and Air Force academies into a single national military academy, according to a new poll. The results show that preserving each branch's specialized training matters more to the public than the joint operational capabilities the government has cited as justification for the consolidation.

The Reform Party released the findings Thursday, based on a survey its think tank, the Reform Research Institute, conducted Tuesday and Wednesday among 503 men and women aged 18 and older nationwide. The poll found that 75.4 percent of respondents opposed the merger, far outpacing the 22.5 percent who supported it. Among those opposed, 69.3 percent said they were "strongly opposed," indicating deep resistance to the proposal.

Opposition was particularly pronounced among respondents aged 18 to 29, at 85.3 percent, and those 70 and older, at 82.2 percent — showing that negative sentiment toward the merger cuts across both younger and older generations.

When asked what factor should matter most in deciding whether to proceed with the merger, 55.4 percent cited "maintaining each branch's specialized capabilities." By contrast, only 15.3 percent pointed to "strengthening joint operational capabilities among the Army, Navy and Air Force" — the primary rationale the Ministry of National Defense has put forward for the consolidation.

Opinion within and outside the military remains divided. Proponents argue that merging the academies would strengthen jointness, improve personnel and facility efficiency, and modernize the officer training system. Opponents counter that the Army, Navy and Air Force each operate in fundamentally different environments requiring distinct expertise, making it difficult for a single unified curriculum to adequately develop branch-specific capabilities.

Analysts note that the Navy and Air Force place heavy emphasis on advanced weapons systems and technology-focused education, while the Army centers on large-scale troop operations and ground-combat doctrine — differences that make a unified training structure practically difficult to implement.

The survey was conducted using an automated response system via wireless random-digit dialing. It carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level, with a response rate of 0.61 percent.