People Power Party lawmaker Han Ki-ho [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Han Ki-ho [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Han Ki-ho, a former army general, said Friday that he appeared to be "suddenly adopting a minister's son" — a response to Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back's denial of allegations that he had gone absent without leave during his military service, in which Ahn declared he would be "Han Ki-ho's son" if the desertion claims were true.

Han wrote on Facebook that day: "I have absolutely no intention of adopting anyone, but since he insists on it, I suppose I have no choice but to accept."

Earlier, at a plenary session of the National Assembly's Defense Committee on Thursday, Ahn responded to questions from Reform Party lawmaker Cheon Ha-ram about the AWOL allegations by saying, "I have not a single thing to be ashamed of before heaven. The claims are completely false." He added, "If I had deserted or anything of the sort, I would be Han Ki-ho's son."

The remark was seen as a direct jab at Han, who had been the first to raise the allegations.

Han pushed back, arguing that the term "desertion" did not even apply to reserve-duty soldiers of that era. "Back then, there was no such thing as 'desertion' for reserve-duty soldiers," he said. "They clocked in from home every day with a stamp, and if they failed to show up, the official term was 'absence' — the word 'desertion' simply did not exist." He then questioned why Ahn's military record showed "30 days of detention," asking whether it was not connected to such an absence. He also raised the discrepancy between Ahn's official discharge date of Jan. 14, 1985, and a separate entry in his military record listing Aug. 31, 1985, suggesting the later date reflected additional service imposed because of an absence.


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