Han Kiho Responds to An Kyubaek's Denial of Desertion Allegations: "Looks Like I'll Suddenly Have the Minister's Son"

Record Shows 22 Months, Not 14—The Spark of Controversy

Han Kiho Counters With "'If I Deserted, I'm Your Son'" Remarks

Disclosure of Military Records Becomes Key Issue

Hankiho, a member of the National Assembly from the People Power Party, and Defense Minister An Kyubaek directly confronted each other over allegations that Minister An had deserted his post while serving as a reservist soldier in the past. When Minister An strongly denied the allegations, saying, "If I deserted my post, then I am Hankiho's son," Assemblyman Han retorted, "Looks like I'm suddenly set to adopt the minister's son." At the heart of this dispute, which escalated into a war of words, is Minister An's military record from around 40 years ago.

An Kyu-baek, Minister of National Defense. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

On the 21st, Assemblyman Han criticized Minister An's comments from the previous day in a post on his social networking service (SNS), saying, "I have absolutely no intention of adopting him, but since he's insisting on being adopted, I'll have to accept it." Earlier, on the 20th, at a full meeting of the National Defense Committee, Assemblyman Chun Haram from the Reform New Party demanded the release of the military record in connection with the desertion allegations. Minister An responded, "I have a clear conscience and nothing to be ashamed of. The claims are completely false."

He emphasized his innocence, saying, "If I ever deserted my post, then I am Assemblyman Hankiho's son." When asked whether the military record listed "30 days of detention," he avoided giving a specific answer, citing the ongoing investigation as the reason. Minister An also stated that, after leaving public office, he would correct any related issues through legal and administrative procedures.

In response, Assemblyman Han once again raised suspicions by referring to the reservist soldier system at the time. He argued, "At the time, the term 'desertion' was not used for reservist soldiers; if someone failed to report for duty, the official term was 'missing'." He further questioned, "Why does the military record card indicate '30 days of detention'? Isn't it because of 'missing'?" and requested an explanation regarding the timing of Minister An's discharge from service as recorded on the military record.

Hankeeho, member of the National Assembly from the People Power Party. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

The controversy began with the period of Minister An's military service as a reservist. He enlisted in the Army as a reservist in November 1983. While the standard service period at that time was 14 months, his military record indicates that he served for a total of 22 months, until August 1985. At a confirmation hearing in July of last year, opposition lawmakers, including Assemblyman Han, raised the possibility of desertion or confinement, pointing out that his service was about eight months longer than standard and that part of this period overlapped with when he returned to university.

However, Minister An’s explanation is completely different. According to him, he completed the standard 14 months of service and returned to university, but was required to serve additional time because the period when he was under investigation by military authorities was not counted as service, and the additional service was carried out during the August 1985 school vacation, which was then recorded as his final discharge date. As for the reason for the investigation, Minister An stated that it was related to an incident during his service when his mother provided lunch for active duty soldiers in the unit free of charge for about two to three weeks.

Defense Minister An Kyu-baek (right) and Chief of the People's Communication Group Joo Won-jang are seen conversing at the '2045 Strategy Establishment Committee' held on the 12th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

The Ministry of National Defense also maintains that the allegations of Minister An’s desertion are "clearly false." Last month, the Ministry explained that while Minister An was under investigation for several days, he was neither detained nor subjected to disciplinary measures, and that the abnormally long service period recorded was due to an administrative error in maintaining military records.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, the actual additional period Minister An served was about 30 days. They added that even Minister An himself is unaware of why the additional service period was longer than the investigation period. Minister An’s side has said that applying to correct his military record while in office could create further controversy, so he intends to pursue correction procedures after leaving office.

On the other hand, those raising the allegations argue that the military record contains different information. Kim Youngsoo, head of the National Defense Rights Research Institute, claims that during his reservist service in 1984, Minister An deserted his duties for about seven months, was apprehended by the military police, detained for 30 days, and subsequently performed additional service to make up for the period of absence. In June, he filed a police complaint against Minister An for allegedly violating the National Assembly Testimony and Appraisal Act.

The Yongsan Police Station in Seoul summoned Kim in July for questioning and is investigating the facts. So far, the investigation has not confirmed whether Minister An deserted his post. The People Power Party asserts that Minister An can put an end to the controversy by directly releasing his military record and relevant personnel orders. Conversely, Minister An and the Ministry of National Defense maintain a negative stance on releasing the records as they are, arguing that disclosing incorrectly recorded documents would only fuel misunderstandings about the facts.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.