Korea Military Academy cadets march along Sejong-daero, Seoul, on October 1, 2024, during the 76th Armed Forces Day parade. [Photo: Yonhap News]

Recently, former Justice Party lawmaker Kim Jong-dae made disparaging remarks about graduates of the Korea Military Academy (KMA), labeling them as an organized cartel and referencing their "history of coups," thereby slandering the very people who stand at the forefront of national security.

This is a distortion of the military’s dedication and its history of life-saving decisions that have defined modern Korean history. Undermining the legitimacy of the KMA—the ultimate bastion of our national security—is a dangerous, dementia-like political offensive that stems from an inability to remember the truth.

I wish to ask those who judge history solely through the logic of winners and losers and who denigrate our military: Was the freedom and prosperity that the Republic of Korea enjoys today obtained for free?

We reject the intentional and malicious perspective that seeks to confine the events of May 16, December 12, and December 3 into the simple frame of "coups" to condemn them.

First, do not brand the military's life-saving decisions to rescue the nation as coups.

Any citizen with a proper sense of Korean history and statehood knows that the May 16 incident was not a "coup," but a "national salvation revolution." It rescued the nation's right to survival and the basic rights of its people—who had been left in ruins and hunger following the Korean War—and laid the foundation for the industrialization of the Republic of Korea.

The December 12 incident occurred amidst the unprecedented and immoral tragedy of a presidential assassination, and the December 3 martial law was declared during a crisis of national collapse. Both were inevitable decisions made by the military to safeguard the liberal democratic system and restore constitutional order.

Ignoring the life-or-death crises the nation faced at the time and judging these events as mere "coups" based on retrospective results is an act of violence that severs history from its context. It is an act of historical manipulation and part of the efforts by pro-communist forces to erase the Republic of Korea.

Second, cease the distorted claims and intentional attacks against the KMA.

Baseless attacks against the KMA are an outrage that only reveals the perpetrator's own ignorance. The KMA is the first elite academy of the Republic of Korea, born in the early days of the nation by transplanting the essence of advanced American democratic systems and military education.

Officers produced here are not merely soldiers trained in military tactics; they are individuals who have internalized the values of liberal democracy, a firm "view of the state" that requires them to take the lead in times of national crisis, and the virtues of loyalty, filial piety, and decorum.

Currently, there are approximately 20,000 living KMA graduates, accounting for only 0.0004% of the total population. For a long time, those tainted by totalitarian ideologies have slandered the KMA to the general public, leaving us with little recourse to fight back.

The majority of the public knows that the KMA is a pillar of security that has sustained the nation since its founding. Nevertheless, we painfully face the reality today where the status of the KMA is being shaken, the military’s political neutrality is being destroyed, and the military is being treated like a political subordinate.

During the past political purge carried out under the guise of "liquidating the Hanahoe," the response from the military leadership was woefully inadequate.

While some argue that the "Hanahoe’s" lack of resistance is proof that they were well-schooled in liberal democracy, it is difficult to avoid the criticism that the lack of conviction and the cowardice of the "Hanahoe" generals in the face of President Kim Young-sam’s illegal purge order undermined the identity and honor of soldiers and weakened the status of the military.

It is a regrettable phenomenon that the history of national security takes on a dual nature depending on interpretation, political forces, and support bases, rather than being based on facts. The May 16 revolution, which saved the country, is branded a cheap "coup," and the May 18 martial law troops, who were deployed under state orders, are treated as "mass murderers."

This is partly the karma of the military for failing to reveal the truth. The military must accurately understand the concept of political neutrality and exert efforts to build its spiritual backbone to block political attempts to shake the military.

Third, we urge an objective and fair re-evaluation of security history.

The Republic of Korea cannot move toward the future if it denies the sacrifices and dedication of the past. To treat the agony of the preceding generation—who shouldered the mission of their time and made decisive choices to overcome national crises—with anything less than understanding and respect, let alone disparaging them with a hostile perspective, is an act of self-destruction that undermines the foundation of our security.

Public and military sentiment has long condemned the distortion of security history that runs counter to the truth. We can no longer tolerate the malicious distortion and framing of security history by pro-North Korea, Juche-ideology followers who have been obsessed with erasing the Republic of Korea rather than dedicating themselves to the nation.

An objective establishment of security history by military research institutes and private historians is necessary. In these times, when the military is being persecuted, we look forward to the emergence of historians who will view military history objectively.

True liberal democracy begins with the introspection of viewing history correctly. The urgent task is to establish national discipline and safeguard true security after the military's pride and morale were shattered by having its martial law duties labeled as insurrection. We will no longer remain silent in the face of the distorted logic of those who denigrate the military.

The military has protected the nation with noble decisions whenever the Republic of Korea was in crisis and has prevented the worst-case scenario of communization. This is why the pro-North/Juche groups are rushing to "shut down the KMA" within this year under the pretext of "consolidating military academies." However, the KMA's DNA of national defense and salvation will never die. In fact, it cannot die.

We are confident that once the election fraud cartel is dismantled, the legislative atrocities of the Democratic Party and pro-communist forces, their false security history frames, and their attempts to "shut down the KMA" will collapse simultaneously. Declaring that the foundation of the "server-hacking" (election fraud) was the "history-hacking" (history distortion), we pledge to accelerate the normalization of the Republic of Korea.

June 24, 2026

All members of the KMA National Salvation Comrades Association (Server-Hack Watch)