Park An-su


Park An-su is a South Korean army general who served as the Chief of Staff of the Army from 31 October 2023 until his suspension on 12 December 2024. He was the Martial Law Commander of the 2024 martial law declaration under President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Life

Park was born on 28 May 1968. He attended Cheongdo Central Elementary School, and graduated from. He joined the Korea Military Academy shortly thereafter. He later married Son Gwon-hee and they had three children.

Career

Chief of Staff

In May 2024, Park travelled to the United States to attend the Land Forces Pacific Symposium.

Martial Law Commander

At 22:23 on 3 December, Yoon began making his emergency address to the nation, and at 22:27, declared martial law. Park was appointed by Yoon as Martial Law Commander the same day.
At 23:25 the same day, Park issued the following decree which retroactively took effect at 23:00:
Yoon's martial law decree went further than those of previous military dictators by suspending the National Assembly. However, Yoon's decree stopped short of ordering curfews or the closure of universities.
At 01:02 on 4 December, 190 legislators who had arrived at the National Assembly Proceeding Hall unanimously passed a motion to lift martial law, despite attempts by the Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command to prevent the vote. At 04:30, Yoon and his cabinet lifted martial law and soon disbanded the Martial Law Command.

Trial

Pre-trial

On 5 December 2024, Park told lawmakers that he did not write the martial law declaration, and before approving a draft of the declaration, he only fixed "an error with stated timing". He also said he was unaware of soldiers being deployed to the National Assembly. Park also submitted his resignation to Yoon, which was rejected. On 12 December, Park was suspended as Chief of Staff of the Army as a result of the 2024 martial law declaration. On 17 December 2024, Park was arrested for insurrection and abuse of power with a court-issued warrant, becoming the fifth to be arrested on the matter of the martial law declaration. Park was indicted on insurrection charges on 25 February 2025.

Proceedings

Park's trial began on 26 March, along with Army Special Warfare Chief Kwak Jong-geun. He was released on bail on 25 June.