Defense Minister Rejects Claims Over a Gap in His 1980s Service Record

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back is facing renewed questions about his military service, more than four decades after he completed it, over a gap between the length of his term and the term most soldiers in his position served.

Ahn was in uniform from Nov. 5, 1983 to Aug. 31, 1985, a stretch of roughly 22 months. Soldiers in territorial defense units at the time generally served about 14. The minister has said his initial discharge came on Jan. 4, 1985, which leaves several months unaccounted for on the face of the record.

The allegation

Kim Young-soo, who leads a civic group focused on whistleblowing and government transparency, has filed a police complaint accusing the minister of violating laws governing testimony to the National Assembly. The underlying claim is that Ahn was absent without leave for about seven months during 1984, was detained for 30 days, and was then required to make up the time he had missed.

The allegations are not new. They circulated during a 2016 Assembly campaign and resurfaced around his confirmation hearing last year, without ever being resolved to the satisfaction of the people raising them.

The response

Ahn has denied deserting his post, saying he never did so and that he has lived his life without anything to be ashamed of. He attributes the discrepancy to administrative error, and says he returned during a summer vacation period to complete service days that the paperwork showed as outstanding.

The ministry has backed him. Spokesperson Chung Binna said the minister completed his service normally and that the allegations are clearly false.

The ministry has also declined to release the underlying records, arguing that documents kept by hand 40 years ago contain clerical errors that would create confusion rather than settle the question. That decision is the pivot on which the story now turns, because it leaves the competing accounts resting on assertion in both directions.

Where it stands

No formal process has been announced beyond the police complaint, and President Lee has not commented publicly on the matter. Whether the case advances will depend on what investigators decide to do with a complaint that rests on service documents the ministry has said it will not make public.