"National Intelligence Service's Surveillance of Sewol Ferry Victims' Families"... Truth and Reconciliation Commission Requests Investigation from Prosecutors

"Produced Videos to Influence Negative Public Opinion, Also Posted on YouTube and Ilbe"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] An investigation has revealed that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) uploaded related videos on platforms such as YouTube and Ilgan Best (Ilbe) to spread negative public opinion about the families of the Sewol ferry disaster victims.

The Special Investigation Commission on Social Disasters (SICSD), which disclosed this fact on the 27th, decided to request a prosecution investigation into the NIS.

At a press conference held on the morning of the same day at Post Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, the SICSD stated, "The investigation results regarding the NIS's surveillance of Sewol ferry victims' families and other civilians show a significant likelihood of criminal charges, and we plan to request a prosecution investigation." Allegations of NIS surveillance targeting the families of the Sewol ferry disaster victims and civilians who supported them have been continuously raised since the disaster.

The 'NIS Reform and Development Committee's Task Force for Clearing Deep-rooted Evils,' launched in June 2017, also investigated such allegations but concluded that "there was no evidence of illegal surveillance."

However, according to the SICSD investigation, at least two NIS employees collected information on Mr. Kim Young-oh, known as 'Yumin's father,' who was on a hunger strike in 2014, and the attending physician at Seoul Eastern Municipal Hospital who treated him, and reported this through the NIS internal computer network.

Furthermore, the SICSD's investigation found that out of 215 NIS reports related to the Sewol ferry disaster, 48 were related to surveillance of the victims' families.

The NIS reports detailed the behavior and atmosphere of the families at the time. In particular, the reports included political recommendations such as "countermeasures through conservative forces (media)" and "creating an atmosphere for returning to daily life to revitalize the stagnant social mood," which were also confirmed to have been reported to the Blue House.

The NIS went beyond surveillance and produced videos using its own budget, which were posted on YouTube and Ilbe. The SICSD stated, "Upon investigating the Sewol-related reports submitted by the NIS, we confirmed that nine of them were related to public opinion manipulation and political recommendations."

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