Dismissal of Late Police Commissioner An Byeong-ha, Who Refused to Order Shooting at 5.18 Protesters, Revoked

Payment of Unpaid Salaries to Bereaved Families

On May 21, 1980, at 1 PM, there was a mass shooting by martial law troops in Geumnam-ro in front of the Jeonnam Provincial Office. The above photo was taken before the mass shooting. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The resignation of the late Police Commissioner An Byeong-ha, who refused orders to fire on citizens during the May 18, 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement and suffered hardships as a result, has been revoked. Unpaid wages will also be paid to his bereaved family.

According to the police, the Ministry of Personnel Management notified the National Police Agency on the 24th that the resignation of Commissioner An on June 2, 1980, was canceled as it was recognized that it was made under coercion such as illegal detention and torture. Resignation refers to a public official voluntarily expressing their intention to retire.

The bereaved family of Commissioner An will receive retroactive payment of 100 months' salary until his death on October 10, 1988, applying the age retirement at 61 years old at the time, rather than the rank retirement at 10 years as a Senior Superintendent in 1981.

Last month, the Police Ombudsman (Civil Complaint Investigator) of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission accepted the family's grievance complaint and recommended to the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency to cancel Commissioner An's resignation and pay the unpaid wages.

At the time, Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission said, "Commissioner An was a person who prioritized citizen safety and led human rights protection despite orders from superiors to suppress the protests harshly," adding, "I hope this decision will serve as an opportunity to restore the late commissioner's honor, albeit belatedly."

Late Police Commissioner Byeongha An. / Photo by Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency, Yonhap News

Commissioner An was born in 1928 in Yangyang, Gangwon Province. He graduated from the 8th class of the Korea Military Academy in 1945, participated in the Korean War, retired as a lieutenant colonel, and joined the police in 1962 through a special recruitment as a Senior Superintendent in the Security Bureau.

During the May 18, 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement, Commissioner An, then the Jeonnam Police Director (Senior Superintendent), refused the new military regime's orders for harsh suppression of protesters and instead treated injured citizens.

Commissioner An is known to have issued instructions to the police responding to the protests such as "Do not arrest anyone except the ringleaders to avoid harm to ordinary citizens" and "Be cautious in using police batons."

As a result, he was suspended from his position on May 26 of the same year, detained and interrogated by the military security command, and resigned on June 2. He later suffered from the aftereffects of torture and passed away on October 10, 1988, at the age of 60.

In 2017, the police posthumously promoted Commissioner An from Senior Superintendent to Police Commissioner by one rank.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.