The Lee Jae Myung administration’s plan to replace South Korea’s separate Army, Naval and Air Force academies with a unified National Armed Forces Academy is expected to take the form of a four-year integrated education model that would fundamentally reshape how future officers are trained.

Supporters argue that educating cadets together from the beginning of their careers will strengthen joint operations, improve recruitment and better prepare officers for future warfare. Critics, however, question whether the government has demonstrated shortcomings in the current system or explained why four years of integrated education would solve them.

Those questions have become more pressing