Unified military academy's launch year in focus as legal concerns emerge

With the government having finalized plans to establish a four-year unified Korea Armed Forces Academy at Jaundae in Daejeon, attention is turning to a key remaining question: when the first class will be admitted. The enrollment year matters directly to students preparing for the admissions process and also signals how much time the government intends to allow for public consultation. A 2028 target date circulating within the ruling party has raised concerns that the timeline could run afoul of existing law.

The Democratic Party of Korea is aiming to pass the relevant legislation for the unified academy this year and admit the first class of cadets in 2028, according to political sources Monday.

Jin Seong-jun, the Democratic Party lawmaker who chairs the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, said recently that the academy cannot be established until the Korea Armed Forces Academy Establishment Act is passed. "The party and the government plan to complete the legislation by the end of the year," Jin said. "Once the bill passes, we can move forward with selecting the first class of cadets in 2028 through admissions held next year."

A Defense Ministry official told reporters after the announcement of the "Basic Plan for Establishing the Korea Armed Forces Academy" that the ministry had never declared it would admit the first class in 2028. "We will give future cadets sufficient time to prepare," the official said, adding that if construction of the academy takes considerable time, that same period can serve as time for careful deliberation.

On the question of a 2028 intake, the Defense Ministry said the academy's establishment would only be possible after the enabling legislation is enacted, and that the timing of cadet selection "will be carefully reviewed to minimize confusion for applicants."

If 2028 is set as the first enrollment year, students currently in their second year of high school would need to begin preparing next year for the newly announced unified admissions process.

That timeline has prompted concerns that it could conflict with the spirit of the advance-notice requirement under the Higher Education Act. Under current law, universities must publicly announce their admissions plans no later than one year and 10 months before the start of the relevant academic year — meaning the admissions plan for the 2028 academic year should already have been announced this past May.

The Defense Ministry maintains that military academies are governed by a separate Korea Armed Forces Academy Establishment Act and are not strictly bound by the Higher Education Act. However, critics note that the establishment act itself incorporates provisions of the Higher Education Act with respect to general academic programs and facilities, meaning the 2028 schedule could still be seen as broadly inconsistent with the college admissions advance-notice policy.

The government plans to hold public hearings and gather broader input before releasing a detailed plan for the academy's establishment in October.