As the state of emergency was lifted just six hours later, the past of Park An-soo, the Army Chief of Staff who was appointed as the martial law commander, is once again drawing attention for his appearance on ‘Real Man’.
On the evening of the 3rd at 10:24 PM, President Yoon Suk-yeol held an emergency address at the Yongsan Presidential Office, declaring, “I declare a state of emergency to eradicate the shameless pro-North anti-state forces and to protect the free constitutional order.”
Subsequently, at around 11 PM, the martial law proclamation (No. 1) was announced. This proclamation, which prohibits all political activities and controls the media, was issued in the name of Park An-soo, the Army Chief of Staff (General) and martial law commander.
As the name of Commander Park An-soo was revealed, posts mentioning his appearance on the MBC entertainment program ‘Real Man’ in 2013 began to appear on social media and online communities.
At that time, Park An-soo appeared as the commander (Colonel) of the 50th Infantry Division of the Haeryong Brigade. Colonel Park An-soo was seen receiving the transfer reports from the participants. He then awarded the participants with the Steel Division badge, saying, “Welcome to the front line of the 2nd Operations Command,” and added, “The people have dressed you in combat uniforms to be here. You can take pride in being a soldier.” He also introduced, “Our brigade is always positioned at the front line where direct combat with the enemy can occur. We perform coastal surveillance operations while also preparing for terrorism. We are also engaged in protecting nuclear power plants and key national facilities, and recently, in honor of the month of national defense, we are conducting the recovery of the remains of our fallen comrades.”
Commander Park An-soo graduated from the Army Academy as part of the 46th class and was promoted to General in October 2023, becoming the Army Chief of Staff. He achieved a rapid promotion from Colonel to General in just 11 years. The ranks between Colonel and General include Brigadier General, Major General, and Lieutenant General.
In a video released on MBC's official YouTube channel at that time, comments such as “Martial Law Commander appeared on ‘Real Man’,” “He became a martial law commander after 10 years,” “Four stars after 11 years, amazing,” “It will become a holy site,” “‘That person’,” and “I saw him as a commander with a good impression” were posted.
Meanwhile, after the declaration of martial law, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik urgently summoned lawmakers to the National Assembly, and at around 1 AM on the 4th, a resolution demanding the lifting of martial law was passed in the plenary session. President Yoon lifted the declaration of martial law at around 4:27 AM. Subsequently, the government announced that it held a Cabinet meeting at 4:30 AM to approve the ‘lifting of martial law’.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
