Those Who Viewed Minister Ahn's Records Say 'No Desertion': 'Attacking the Messenger Instead of the Reform Message?'

Allegations have surfaced that Defense Minister Ahn Kyu-baek deserted during his service as a defense soldier about 40 years ago, and was caught by the Deserter Pursuit (DP) team and confined in a military guardhouse. While Minister Ahn is responding somewhat passively, opponents of defense reform and the opposition party are launching a wave of offensives. Caught in the middle, the Ministry of National Defense is on pins and needles.

The allegations regarding Minister Ahn Kyu-baek's military service were first raised during his confirmation hearing last year. Since then, former Navy Major Kim Young-su, who has been dedicated to attacking Minister Ahn, has made several disclosures on social media. Although he repeatedly claimed desertion and other issues, there was little response. This time, however, former Major Kim added highly volatile elements: the deployment of a DP team and an arrest. Amid intense debate over defense reform issues, such as the consolidation of military academies and the disbandment of the Defense Counterintelligence Command (DCC), the allegations of Minister Ahn's desertion and arrest by a DP team have poured gasoline on a smoldering fire.

Former Major Kim and the People Power Party (PPP) point to Minister Ahn's military service record as the key to resolving the allegations. This reporter contacted several ruling party figures who have personally viewed the military service record. They testified in unison, "There is absolutely no mention of desertion, DP arrest, guardhouse confinement, or detention in the military service record." They also added, "There is a minor mention related to providing meals to soldiers, but Minister Ahn is simply reluctant to make it public."
 
Accepting the accounts of those who viewed the military service record as fact and observing how the controversy over Minister Ahn's military service caught fire, a certain pattern emerges. The allegations, which had failed to attract attention despite being raised multiple times before, flared up rapidly when opposition to the consolidation of military academies gained momentum, driven by opponents of the consolidation. This resembles the rather absurd attack tactic of "if you cannot defeat the message (the consolidation of military academies), attack the messenger (the defense minister)."
  Multiple ruling party figures who viewed Minister Ahn's military service record agreed, "The only part of the military service record that has not been disclosed in detail is the reason for the investigation regarding the minister's mother providing meals to soldiers." They added, "Since there is no mention of desertion, DP, guardhouse confinement, or detention, many around him suggested releasing the military service record to confront the issue head-on. However, Minister Ahn refused, saying, 'There is a concern that they will nitpick every single letter in the document to continuously shake up national defense.'" They also explained, "Minister Ahn's mother, who was well-off at the time, was investigated because she prepared lunch for local neighborhood boys who had enlisted as defense soldiers. This led to an incident—possible only in the old days—where he had to serve additional time after his discharge to make up for the investigation period."

Another influential ruling party figure who also viewed the military service record confidently stated, "Staking my political life and conscience, I confirm that there is absolutely no mention of desertion, DP arrest, detention, or guardhouse confinement in Minister Ahn's military service record." It is also understood that other military documents, which can be considered the source data for the military service record, contain no mention of desertion, arrest, guardhouse confinement, or detention. Sungkyunkwan University's academic records, which prove his normal completion and grades for the first semester of the 1985 academic year, also support Minister Ahn's claim that he was discharged in January 1985 after 14 months of service without any desertion or guardhouse confinement. A key official from the Ministry of National Defense asked, "If he had served 22 months until August 1985 due to desertion or guardhouse confinement, how could he have returned to Sungkyunkwan University and received academic grades for the first semester of 1985?"

Minister Ahn Kyu-baek's military service record confirmed so far is "enlisted as an Army defense soldier in November 1983, discharged as a private first class in August 1985." Although the service period for defense soldiers at the time was 14 months, he is recorded as having served for an additional eight months. Minister Ahn's explanation is: "I was discharged on January 4, 1985, and returned to university, but after receiving a notice to perform additional service, I fulfilled it for a few days during the August vacation, which extended my service period on paper." In other words, while his service on paper spans from November 1983 to August 1985, his actual service was from November 1983 to January 1985.

Regarding the reason for performing additional service for a few days long after his discharge, Minister Ahn's side explains, "During his service, a report was filed with the military authorities that Minister Ahn's mother had provided lunch to the soldiers in the unit, and the investigation, which lasted for several days, was the root of the trouble." They claim, "The military authorities belatedly ordered additional service equivalent to the investigation period after his discharge." An associate of Minister Ahn said, "The person who reported the mother's provision of meals as if it were a crime was a local police executive who was on bad terms with the unit commander," adding, "Consequently, the unit commander was also investigated by the military authorities."
 
This is not the first time former Major Kim Young-su has raised allegations about Minister Ahn Kyu-baek's military service. He had done so a couple of times in the past, posting accusations on social media and contacting the media. The content was largely the same. Neither People Power Party lawmakers nor reporters paid much attention. For reporters covering the Ministry of National Defense, the allegations regarding Minister Ahn's military service, including desertion, are nothing new.

But this latest raising of allegations became a hit, so to speak. The role of a new player was significant: the alumni association of the military, naval, and air force academies. The alumni association widely publicized former Major Kim's press conference plans in advance, drawing the attention of the media and opinion leaders. Following former Major Kim's press conference on July 6, PPP lawmakers began joining in one by one. At a rally opposing the consolidation of military academies on July 8, speakers unleashed a barrage of criticism regarding Minister Ahn's military service allegations. It has now become a nationwide political issue highly advantageous to the opposition party. Even YouTubers have emerged, spreading absurd claims such as "Minister Ahn and his two brothers sexually assaulted a minor in 1982."

Why did these allegations, which caused a stir but ultimately blew over during the confirmation hearing in June of last year, explode now? Looking at the situation where the alumni association of the military academies and the opposition party, both opposing defense reform, are putting all their efforts into attacking Minister Ahn while defense reform issues like the consolidation of military academies and the disbandment of the DCC are underway, one thing comes to mind: the ad hominem fallacy.

This is a logical fallacy that attempts to invalidate a speaker's words by attacking the speaker's character rather than addressing the argument itself. In other words, it is a technique of destroying the message at its source by attacking the messenger. One can catch glimpses of their intention to undermine Minister Ahn's defense reform messages, such as the consolidation of military academies and the disbandment of the DCC, by focusing their attacks on his personal military service allegations.
 
The Ministry of National Defense needs to consider refining its message to mitigate the attacks on the messenger. Among Minister Ahn's messages, the one facing the most opposition is undoubtedly the consolidation of military academies. The public is not being well-persuaded regarding its methodology and pace. The campaign by the military academies' alumni association to scrap the consolidation is gaining momentum, and a perfect stage is being set for the PPP to challenge the defense reform and expand it into an attack on the administration.

In fact, the Ministry of National Defense's idea of consolidating military academies to teach advanced disciplines and relocating the Korea Military Academy (KMA) to the provinces because admission scores are declining is illogical. Given South Korea's educational reality, moving the KMA, which is currently located in Seoul, to the provinces makes a further drop in admission scores almost 100% certain. To increase the pool of excellent talent aspiring to become officers, the government must raise public trust in the military and improve the treatment of junior officers. The ministry's claim that it will strengthen jointness starting from the first year of college is also vulnerable to opposition, with critics asking, "How can you talk about strengthening jointness for cadets who have not even established the basics of the Army, Navy, and Air Force?"

Despite these methodological issues, the Ministry of National Defense is pushing forward at a rapid pace. It appears ready to apply the consolidated military academy curriculum starting with current high school sophomores. The consolidation of military academies is a form of educational reform before it is a defense reform. It requires sufficient deliberation on multiple levels, but there has been no news of such procedures being carried out. It is obvious that rushing educational reform will lead to massive confusion.

If Minister Ahn Kyu-baek truly feels wronged by the military service allegations and, at the same time, wants to complete the defense reform, he should clarify the allegations but also slow down the pace of the military academy consolidation and listen to the opposition. Through a patient process of persuading and being persuaded, he can somewhat reduce the opposition to the defense reform message and, furthermore, the attacks on the messenger of defense reform. Only then can he ease the allegations and walk the path of unity, pushing forward with reform in an agreed-upon direction.

The Ministry of National Defense must keep in mind that Minister Ahn Kyu-baek is not just an ordinary defense minister who gets replaced every one to two years. He is the first civilian defense minister in 64 years. It is a significant and symbolic position to re-establish civilian control, which was disrupted by the December 3 martial law. Therefore, the success of the civilian defense minister system is just as important as completing the defense reform. The ministry must place similar value on both defense reform and the civilian defense minister system as it navigates the waves of the current crisis.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.