MB Government Surveillance Documents, Is Pandora's Box Opening?

National Assembly Intelligence Committee Anticipates Ruling Party and Opposition Clash Over Submission of Surveillance List

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Allegations of illegal surveillance by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) during the Lee Myung-bak administration were addressed at the National Assembly Intelligence Committee. With the April 7 by-elections for the Seoul and Busan mayoral offices approaching, a political battle between the ruling and opposition parties unfolded over the submission of the list of illegal surveillance documents by the NIS.

On the 16th, Kim Kyung-hyup, chairman of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee from the Democratic Party, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy, "At the full committee meeting of the Intelligence Committee held this morning, we plan to review the NIS’s response regarding the allegations of illegal surveillance during the Lee Myung-bak administration," adding, "The request for document submission will be decided after reviewing the NIS’s response."

According to the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, a request was made for the submission of a list to understand the extent and scope of illegal surveillance conducted during the Lee Myung-bak administration. If the report is deemed insufficient, a formal request for document submission is expected. Under Article 15, Paragraph 2 of the current National Intelligence Service Act, if two-thirds of the committee members agree, the relevant information must be reported without delay.

The People Power Party raised concerns about the controversy emerging at such a sensitive time during the election period. Ha Tae-kyung, the opposition party’s secretary of the Intelligence Committee and a member of the People Power Party, said, "There are signs that this is being linked to the election," and expressed concern, "The National Intelligence Service’s Political Non-Interference Act was recently passed, but this issue could bring political interference back to the forefront." Ha added, "If there was personal surveillance, I do not oppose information disclosure," but also expressed concern that "the list demanded by the Democratic Party is ambiguous and could lead to indiscriminate disclosure of personal information."

Political circles have already raised suspicions that the documents target Park Hyung-joon, the People Power Party’s preliminary candidate for Busan mayor. Park served as Senior Secretary for Political Affairs during the Lee Myung-bak administration. Regarding this, Jeong Jin-seok, a People Power Party lawmaker, raised the issue on social media, stating, "(This matter) is not just domestic political interference but a political operation by the intelligence agency for the election."

On the other hand, Chairman Kim denied the allegations, stating, "This came to light because the Supreme Court ruling led to the surveillance information being delivered to the party who requested information disclosure from the NIS," and emphasized, "It has nothing to do with the election."

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