Defense Ministry again denies chief deserted during military service

The Ministry of National Defense on Monday again rejected allegations that Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back went absent without leave during his military service in the 1980s.

The ministry said his records include the dates he was called up again and discharged in 1985 and show that he completed his service.

The Defense Ministry's spokesperson laid out the case at a regular briefing on Monday.

"The date of his January 1985 discharge, and the dates he was recalled and discharged again later that year, are all on record," the spokesperson said. "Minister Ahn completed his service normally, and the allegations are clearly false."

The ministry spokesperson said the accusers were relying on Ahn's service certificate.

"Those raising the desertion and extra-service allegations are basing their claim on the fact that only the August 1985 discharge is recorded on the service certificate," the spokesperson said. "The detailed records still contain his January 1985 discharge and the later recall and discharge entries."

The ministry rejected the desertion allegation as clearly false on Friday as well, and has refused to release Ahn's record.

"Releasing a mistaken 40-year-old record would only deepen misunderstanding regardless of the facts," the ministry said.

Ahn's record shows he was called up as a defense conscript, a shortened military duty in which the enlistee is based near their home, at the Army's 35th Division in November 1983 and discharged in August 1985. At his confirmation hearing last year, the fact that his record showed 22 months of service, eight months longer than the 14-month term for defense conscripts at the time, drew suspicion that his service was extended because of military detention or a similar penalty.

Ahn has said his actual discharge came on Jan. 4, 1985, and that he returned to university afterward. But about five months when he was enrolled in school were wrongly counted as part of his service in an administrative error.

The ministry also cited an investigation involving Ahn's mother related to the provision of free lunches to soldiers during his service. With the probe stopping the clock on his conscription period, he served additional time through August 1985. His university transcript from that semester still exists, the ministry said, and confirms that he was discharged normally and resumed his studies.

The allegations flared again recently when Kim Young-soo, the head of a civic group, filed a police complaint accusing Ahn of giving false testimony before the National Assembly.

"He served 22 months in all, including 30 days in military police detention and seven months of desertion," said Kim, who also alleged that a 30-day detention penalty appeared on Ahn's record.

The ministry countered that Ahn's unit and his home were only a two-minute walk apart, and therefore, "The claim that he deserted for seven months would defy common sense."

The ministry said it would seek to correct the record after Ahn leaves office.

BY PARK JONG-SUH [[email protected]]