'Captain America' cosplayer who claimed to be CIA agent, Trump official behind far-right media outlet's fake news

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'Captain America' cosplayer who claimed to be CIA agent, Trump official behind far-right media outlet's fake news

Published: 24 Feb. 2025, 16:56

KIM MIN-YOUNG
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Ahn wearing Captain America's iconic costume blocks an elevator in the National Human Rights Commission of Korea's building in Jung District, central Seoul, on Feb. 10. [NEWS1]

A "Captain America" cosplayer claiming to be a Donald Trump administration official and a CIA agent was allegedly the orchestrator of a slew of fake news reported by a far-right news outlet.

Phone recordings totaling around 130-minutes between the cosplayer, surnamed Ahn, and a Skye Daily reporter, obtained by the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of Korea JoongAng Daily, on Sunday, contains records of the cosplayer’s involvement in the fake reports.

Ahn, 42, first received the spotlight after attempting to break into the Chinese Embassy in Jung District, central Seoul, while dressed as Captain America on Feb. 14. The cosplayer then smashed windows while trying to break into the Seoul Namdaemun Police Precinct in the same district on Thursday, urging an "urgent investigation" into his case.

He was arrested on Saturday for charges including attempting to break into the embassy and vandalizing police property.

At the time of the embassy break-in attempt, Ahn was wearing his Captain America costume and had previously made threats of a "terror attack" on the compound. Earlier that week, he also caused a disturbance at South Korea's state human rights watchdog, once again clad as Captain America.

Ahn was a former member of the now defunct far-right Korean Patriots' Party and ran for a seat in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, in 2018. The cosplayer also gained notoriety in 2011 when he claimed he was the descendant of Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910) on the online community Ruliweb while posting pictures of his dieting progress.

A man wearing Captain America's iconic costume shows up at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea's building on Feb. 10. [YONHAP]

Ahn was part of at least four reports by Skye Daily, claiming in phone conversations on Jan. 17, 18, and Feb. 9 and 16 that he had worked for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Israel’s Mossad and the U.S. military.

Ahn frequently changed his identity throughout his communications with the reporter. In various Skye Daily articles, he appeared as an “anonymous intelligence source,” a “U.S. military intelligence source,” or a “source familiar with the matter.”

On Jan. 18, Ahn claimed he was a U.S. Army reservist without a full-time job. Then, on Feb. 9, the cosplayer told the reporter that he used to work for the CIA under the Biden administration, but Trump issued an executive order asking him to take “early retirement,” making him “technically still with” the CIA until the end of February.

Ahn was also quoted in Skye Daily articles posing as an administration official under U.S. President Donald Trump.

Skye Daily published an article titled “Chinese Spy Ring Involved in Domestic Public Opinion Manipulation” on Jan. 18, claiming that Trump views anti-impeachment rallies “positively.”

The article quoted a so-called "Trump administration official" who said, “The presence of the South Korean flag and U.S. flag has turned the event into a celebration of the strong friendship between South Korea and the United States.”

“President Trump sees this as evidence that the United States has many friends in Korea.”

The remarks were nearly identical to what Ahn had told the reporter during their phone conversation the day before. After the article was published, the reporter told Ahn, “You've made your official debut.”

Ahn's campaign poster when he ran for a seat in Gangnam District, southern Seoul during the general election in 2018 [NATIONAL ELECTION COMMITTEE]

Another Skye Daily article published on Jan. 20, “Chinese Spies Deported to the U.S. Received South Korean Unemployment Benefits,” was reportedly based on Ahn’s claims.

The article said that some of the arrested Chinese spies disguised themselves as foreign trainee workers. It also said that after being excluded from their jobs, the spies collected unemployment benefits, enjoying benefits provided by the South Korean government due to former President Moon Jae-in’s pro-China policies.

In a phone call two days before the article was published, Ahn told the reporter that the South Korean government created a spy ring for China, then “disguised them as six-month trainee workers, let them receive unemployment benefits and used taxpayer money to fund espionage activities.”

“Some of them are ethnic Chinese,” said Ahn. “Write that the Moon Jae-in administration was behind it.”

Ahn was also involved in articles claiming that the “Chinese spies” captured by “Trump’s Black Ops agents” were detained in Naha and Okinawa, Japan.

These reports falsely claimed that three U.S. agents named Michael, Gabriel and Raphael worked with South Korean authorities to arrest the “Chinese spies,” detaining them at a “black site” managed by the United States in Naha, Japan.

These claims mirrored Ahn’s comments in phone conversations.

“They were temporarily held at Pyeongtaek Port before being transferred to a facility in Naha,” said Ahn. “Trump was pleased with our report on the black ops agents.”

Ahn is dragged by police into the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, to attend a warrant hearing on Feb. 22. [NEWS1]

In one phone recording, Ahn was pressured by the reporter for more article ideas, saying, “I’m running out of ideas for follow-up reports.”

“You need to struggle over this desperately,” the reporter said. “You think you have time to sleep with the task ahead of you?”

Ahn responded on Feb. 9 that many “sources” were posted in the “U.S. politics” gallery on the online forum DC Inside on Feb. 9.

“When human intelligence operatives upload intel [on the forum], I verify and delete it,” said Ahn. He also demanded payment, telling the reporter to give him the money as a “contributing journalist.”

“That’s a great idea,” said the reporter. The reporter also praised Ahn’s suggestions, “As expected, American-style thinking is on another level.”

After police questioned the reporter on Feb. 4 over spreading false information about the NEC, a recorded phone conversation on Feb. 9 revealed their attempt to destroy evidence.

“Even if you delete records, they can be recovered by forensics,” said Ahn. “You must smash your phone and burn it with lighter fuel.”

Police questioned the reporter on Feb. 4 as a suspect for publishing false reports. Authorities plan to summon the reporter for further questioning and are also considering investigating Skye Daily’s CEO, surnamed Cho.

“I reported the facts based on a credible domestic source,” the reporter told the police, claiming to have “cross-verified the information,” according to media accounts.

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s legal team later cited Skye Daily's report of election fraud during impeachment proceedings at the Constitutional Court to justify his martial law declaration on Dec. 3 last year.

BY LEE CHAN-KYU, KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]