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

Ahn will meet 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 later in the day, 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 that each military service requires specialized training tailored to their distinct operational environment.

Kim Hong-cheol, deputy defense minister for policy, has said the ministry is reviewing drawing on profits from selling 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

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