Nine military academy cadets will face disciplinary actions for drinking or visiting a massage parlor while conducting volunteer work in Thailand earlier this month, Army officials said Tuesday.

A total of 173 cadets of the Korea Military Academy visited Thailand from Aug. 5-12 to meet Thai veterans who fought in the Korean War as this year marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the three-year conflict.

During their stay in Bangkok, four cadets were caught drinking at a local bar and five were spotted visiting a massage parlor by senior academy officers. 

After returning to Korea, they were sent to the disciplinary committee for violating the code of conduct which bans drinking on and off campus and outings without approval, according to officials.

The third-year cadets confessed to senior officials that they just toured the local market and received traditional Thai massage during their free time, they noted.

"The level of punishment will be confirmed in a meeting of the disciplinary committee slated for next week," an Army official said. "They are expected to face heavy punishment."

The latest incident involving cadets came just months after a drunken male cadet sexually harassed a female colleague on campus during a festival in May.

As punishment the head of the elite military academy was dismissed from his post, while 11 senior officials received disciplinary actions for lax control.

In light of the incident the military academy formed a special team to strengthen monitoring of the students' behavior. (Yonhap News)