(ATTN: RECASTS headline, paras 1-2; ADDS byline, paras 6-8 with alumni group, ministry statement)

By Kim Hyun-soo

SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back met with the alumni groups of the Army, Navy and Air Force academies Wednesday to seek their support for the government's push to integrate the academies into a single institution, the defense ministry said.

Ahn met with the presidents of the alumni associations of the Korea Military Academy, Republic of Korea Naval Academy and the Republic of Korea Air Force Academy at the defense ministry compound in Seoul, according to the ministry.

The move comes after the alumni groups staged a massive rally protesting the integration plan, calling on the government to immediately halt its push to merge the academies and to review the plan from scratch.

The Lee Jae Myung government has said the integration plan seeks to pool talented future cadets amid a demographic cliff and better respond to evolving warfare.

The drive for the tentatively named "National Military Academy" has faced strong opposition from the armed forces, which argue each military service requires specialized training tailored to their distinct operational environment.

Following the meeting, the alumni associations claimed that the defense minister had pledged to review maintaining the current military academy system during its push for educational reform.

However, the ministry denied Ahn had made such comments, noting he had merely vowed to listen to various perspectives with an "open mind."

"The defense ministry will take into account various views raised in the process to achieve the best possible reform of military academy education, with the establishment of the National Military Academy as its basic premise," the ministry said in a press notice.

Kim Hong-cheol, deputy defense minister for policy, has said the ministry is reviewing a plan to use profits from the sell of idle land in the relocation process, as well as state funds, to finance the new military academy, estimating the total cost at over 3 trillion won (US$2.1 billion), in an interview with local media.

The ministry plans to hold a public hearing later this month and unveil a detailed plan for the new academy around October.

sookim@yna.co.kr

(END)

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