On the 5th, President Lee Jae Myung said, “The Korea Military Academy was at the center of three coups, yet it has never been held accountable,” and ordered that the work to integrate the Army·Navy·Air Force academies be accelerated. Regarding the idea of referring to North Korea by its official state name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Joseon), President Lee said, “Using the official names of South and North Korea is a matter open to debate,” adding, “We should think carefully about it.” As for the promulgation of the Criminal Procedure Act abolishing the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority, he said, “There is an aspect in which it has become very easy for (the police) to conceal cases,” directing, “Look for remedial measures.”

At work briefings by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and others held at the Blue House that day, President Lee said, “Even though the Korea Military Academy carried out military coups and committed acts that entirely destroyed the constitutional order of the country as many as three times, it still occupies an overwhelming position,” and added, “Who would have thought Army generals would collude to launch a praetorian military coup? Should we not make sure this cannot happen going forward?” He went on to say, “(The 12·3 insurrection) is already in the past and was suppressed, but that does not mean it is something to gloss over.”

On July 16, the Ministry of National Defense announced a policy to integrate the three service academies at Jaunde in Daejeon and establish a four-year Joint Forces Military Academy, and in response, opposition to the integration emerged led by the Korea Military Academy Alumni Association. President Lee said, “We must fully explain this to the public,” and urged, “Proceed swiftly with (the creation of the Joint Forces Military Academy).” The Ministry of National Defense plans to hold a public hearing on the 26th at the Defense Convention in Seoul to gather public opinion and then draw up detailed plans for the establishment of the Joint Forces Military Academy by October.

President Lee asked Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-Young to take a cautious approach to the idea of calling North Korea Joseon. President Lee said, “If we get snagged on wording and are drawn into partisan strife, it could produce a worse situation,” and added, “Against our intention, a single term or a single expression becomes the subject of political strife, so we must be all the more cautious.” In his briefing, Minister Jeong said, “As a first step in calling each other by name, we must stop the language of confrontation and hatred toward each other, such as main enemy.”

President Lee also expressed concern about the preemptive restoration of the 9·19 Military Agreement. He said, “As the (inter-Korean) situation continues not to improve, backlash arises in the form of ‘Are we making unilateral concessions?’ and ‘Are we abandoning security?’ and there are times when I slightly question whether acting according to our good intentions will truly be a plus for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.” He added, “Whether goodwill works as goodwill is greatly influenced by circumstances.”

Regarding the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that passed the Cabinet meeting the previous day, President Lee said, “As the police's authority becomes very large, they have come to possess the power to conclude investigations,” and added, “In the past, even if someone wanted to go easy on a case, everything would in any case be handed over to the prosecution, so it was difficult to act recklessly; but now, as long as it does not get caught as an internal issue and you just adequately shut the victim's mouth, there is an aspect in which it has become very easy to conceal a case.”

President Lee said, “Because this changes a system that has been in place for decades wholesale, it will not neatly remove every problem and become a new system,” and instructed, “We must surface every problem that could arise now as much as possible and do our utmost to devise countermeasures for them.”

With the ‘Jang Yoon-Gi case’ in mind, President Lee said, “There are also things about how the police have handled family cases, and these days it even goes from local judges to local police,” and urged, “If we are to carry out (police) rotational assignments, there needs to be official housing or transportation subsidies, and we should think this through together.” As for the prosecution, he urged, “Now that they no longer conduct investigations officially, do not look carelessly at forwarded non-referral cases, and reviewing them properly is an important prosecutorial activity for protecting victims.”