'Show us the records' vs. 'nothing to hide': Row over Defense Minister Ahn's military service intensifies

The controversy over allegations that Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek deserted during his military service is escalating. The Ministry of National Defense has rebuffed the allegations as "plainly false," but the People Power Party is ratcheting up pressure, demanding that Ahn release his military records and asking whether they contain something worse than desertion. A National Assembly petition calling for Ahn's impeachment has drawn more than 310,000 signatures.

Park Sung-hoon, the PPP's chief spokesperson, said Saturday that "if he refuses to disclose the records, resigning immediately is the only remaining duty he can fulfill before the armed forces and the people of this country." Park said the desertion allegations against Ahn "are growing louder and becoming a serious risk to national security," and urged him to "stop the wordplay, release the military records, and lay out before the public exactly what went wrong and how."

On Friday, the Defense Ministry said it would seek to correct the records after Ahn leaves office, citing concerns that filing a correction request while still serving as minister could itself spark controversy. Park dismissed that explanation as "an attempt to muddy the essence of the allegations and buy time — a deception of the public," adding that "if it truly is a clear administrative error, as the Defense Ministry boldly claims, all it takes is transparently releasing the very record it says is wrong." Park also said, "How can a commander who cannot even properly explain his own military service record speak of military discipline and dedication?"

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon joined the pressure Saturday, questioning why Ahn was refusing to release the records and asking, "Could it be that there is something in them even worse than desertion?" Han had previously argued that "if the defense minister of the Republic of Korea is a former deserter, and if Cheong Wa Dae knew that and appointed him anyway — or overlooked it — that would be a massive abuse of state power."

PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik said Thursday, "Can someone carrying the allegation of being a 'deserter who did time in a military detention facility' command 450,000 troops?" Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won added, "In what civilized country in the world can a former deserter serve as defense minister?"

At the heart of the allegations is the length of service recorded in Ahn's military register. According to the record, Ahn was called up as a local defense soldier in the Army's 35th Division on Nov. 5, 1983, and was discharged as a private first class on Aug. 31, 1985. The standard service period for local defense soldiers at the time was 14 months, but the record shows approximately 22 months of service. That discrepancy raised suspicions, first aired at a National Assembly confirmation hearing last year, that his discharge was delayed due to absence without leave or detention in a military facility.

Kim Yeong-su, head of the Public Interest Reporting Center for a Clean Society, filed a police complaint against Ahn on Monday under the Act on Testimony and Appraisal Before the National Assembly, alleging that Ahn was absent from his post for seven months and received 30 days of confinement as punishment. Police are scheduled to question the complainant July 16.

The Defense Ministry pushed back point by point at a media briefing on Friday. A ministry official said that "according to Sungkyunkwan University's academic records, it is clear that he enlisted on Nov. 5, 1983, and was discharged on Jan. 4, 1985," and asked how Ahn could have university grades for the first semester of 1985 if he had truly served an additional seven months after deserting. The official also noted that "Ahn's home and his unit were a two-minute walk apart," saying it was "hard to accept on common sense grounds" that a commuting short-term soldier could have deserted for seven months.

According to the ministry's account, Ahn was investigated by a military agency during his service in connection with his mother providing lunches to soldiers at the unit's request for a period of time. That investigation period was excluded from his service days, and after his discharge in January 1985, he completed the remaining days during the summer vacation period that August.

"He received no punishment of any kind, including confinement," the ministry official said, describing Ahn as "a victim of an administrative error in his military records." The ministry explained its refusal to release the records by saying that "releasing a record with errors from 40 years ago would, regardless of the facts, leave only the erroneous record in people's minds and deepen misunderstanding."

The dispute has reignited alongside a broader ruling-opposition clash over the government's push for defense reforms, including the integration of the Army, Navy and Air Force academies. The opposition has zeroed in on the military record allegations as a way to undermine the legitimacy of the reform drive, while the ruling camp maintains the matter was already addressed at last year's confirmation hearing. The standoff is expected to continue for now.