Senior Coast Guard Official Suspended Over Martial Law Allegations: "Unable to Perform Duties"

The Official States:
"I Only Advised According to Martial Law Procedures"

The Korea Coast Guard has removed An Sung-sik, Director of Planning and Coordination at headquarters, from his duties following allegations that he was involved in the December 3 Martial Law.

On the evening of August 14, the Coast Guard issued a press release stating, "We have placed Director An on standby, as we determined that it would be difficult for him to perform his duties normally."

Director An is currently at the center of controversy over allegations that, at the time of the December 3 Martial Law declaration last year, he advocated for arming officers with firearms and dispatching investigative personnel to the Martial Law Command.

In response, the Coast Guard explained, "While it is true that, just before the nationwide video conference of commanders on the day martial law was declared, Director An mentioned reviewing the carrying of firearms for the protection of police substations and considering the dispatch of investigative personnel if a joint investigation unit were formed during a meeting with some senior officers, no action was actually taken as a result."

Director An also faces allegations that he instructed local police stations to prepare detention cells, claiming that there would be a large number of martial law offenders.

However, in a phone interview with this newspaper, he stated, "The management of detention cells at local coast guard stations falls under the jurisdiction of the Investigation Bureau, and I do not have the authority to give such instructions," adding, "I merely discussed the detention cell management manual with the person in charge of investigations in the context of martial law." Director An further explained, "Since I am a former member of the Defense Security Command, I am well-versed in martial law procedures, so I simply advised on matters such as carrying firearms at substations and dispatching investigative personnel to joint investigation units according to the manual."

Director An graduated from Chungam High School, the same alma mater as former President Yoon Suk-yeol. In March 2022, while serving as Chief of the Criminal Division at headquarters, he became the first Coast Guard officer to be dispatched to the Presidential Transition Committee, drawing public attention. After President Yoon's inauguration, he also worked in the Presidential Office's National Situation Room.

He was promoted from Senior Superintendent to Chief Superintendent in 2023, and again to Senior Commissioner last year, rising two ranks in two years.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Korea has called on the special prosecutor to thoroughly investigate the allegations of Director An's involvement with the Martial Law Command.

Baek Seung-ah, the Democratic Party's spokesperson, stated at a National Assembly briefing that day, "If the media reports are true, this constitutes a serious criminal act that goes beyond mere cooperation and amounts to active participation in illegal martial law," adding, "Director An's excuse that he simply made recommendations based on his knowledge of martial law is feeble."

She continued, "If a Coast Guard executive ordered officers to arm themselves and attempted to involve the organization in illegal martial law, this would be an anti-constitutional crime that betrays the duty to uphold the Constitution," and emphasized, "Given that these allegations cannot be dismissed as the actions of a single individual, the special prosecutor must conduct a thorough investigation, including whether this high-ranking official had prior knowledge of the martial law."