Cadets Unable to Complete Class Days Due to 3 Weeks of National Armed Forces Day Parade Practice

Disruption in Academic Schedule... Legal Instruction Days Fall Short of 15 Weeks
"Showcase-Only Administrative Display... Hinders Study and Military Training"

Cadets who were mobilized for the military parade during the Armed Forces Day ceremony failed to meet the required number of class days, resulting in a delayed start for next year's semester.

Earlier, starting last month, 900 cadets from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Armed Forces Nursing Academy were mobilized for three weeks to prepare for the Armed Forces Day ceremony, which sparked controversy.

This year's Armed Forces Day ceremony was held on the 1st in the Gwanghwamun area of Seoul, where President Yoon Suk-yeol attended and watched the parade with citizens. The parade covered approximately 2 km from Seoul Plaza to Gwanghwamun, with Korean War veterans and national heroes participating in a car parade.

The event mobilized over 3,000 troops and around 80 military vehicles, featuring fixed-wing formation flights, as well as marching foot and equipment units. This large-scale military parade commemorating Armed Forces Day was resumed for the first time in 10 years since 2013.

On the 1st, cadets from the Korea Military Academy and military personnel are marching on Sejong-daero, Seoul, during the 76th Armed Forces Day parade. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The cadets traveled to Seoul for rehearsals in preparation for the ceremony and parade. The Ministry of National Defense initially demanded four weeks of training, but the service academies protested, resulting in a reduction to three weeks.

During the preparation period, classes at the academies were completely suspended, causing cadets to fall short of the legally mandated 15 weeks of instruction per semester, leading to serious disruptions in their education. Moreover, cadets reportedly faced significant physical strain, walking over 20,000 steps daily in hot weather while practicing for the parade.

In response, the Air Force Academy and the Nursing Academy decided to delay the start of the first semester of 2025 by one week, and all service academies plan to conduct make-up classes for the remaining semester.

Regarding this situation, Rep. Ahn Kyu-baek of the National Defense Committee stated, “The government should allow cadets to focus on their primary mission of military education rather than mobilizing them for showy administrative events.”