The Ministry of National Defense will hold a public hearing on the 26th to gather public opinion on its plan to create a four-year Korea Armed Forces Academy that merges the army, navy and air force academies.
The hearing, titled "Public Hearing on the Establishment of the Korea Armed Forces Academy," will take place at the Defense Convention center in Seoul's Yongsan district and feature an expert discussion and a question-and-answer session with attendees, the ministry said on the 25th.
The expert discussion will be chaired by Lim Chul-il, a professor of education at Seoul National University. Six panelists will take part: Kang Byung-chul, a retired air force brigadier general; Kim Se-jin, secretary-general of Future Thinking; Doo Jin-ho, head of the Eurasia Center at the Korea Research Institute for Strategy; Cho Ki-hong, a retired navy colonel; Jin Ho-young, a retired air force brigadier general; and Choi Young-jin, a professor at Chung-Ang University.
In the following question-and-answer session, attendees will be free to offer their views and raise questions, the ministry said, adding that it aims to gather a wide range of voices.
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back is not expected to attend the hearing.
"After closely reviewing the opinions gathered from all sectors at the hearing, we plan to draw up the optimal plan for establishing the Korea Armed Forces Academy," the ministry said.
