NIS: "Possibility of Illegal Surveillance Continuing During Park Geun-hye Government... Confidential Report If Requested by National Assembly"

Related Laws Needed to Address Scale of NIS Illegal Surveillance Documents
Data Managed with Help from Police, National Tax Service at Request of MB Government Civil Affairs Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] It has been reported that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) informed the National Assembly of the possibility of illegal surveillance during the Park Geun-hye administration. Although the list of illegal surveillance by the NIS was not submitted to the National Assembly, it was confirmed that the NIS expressed willingness to submit it if requested by the National Assembly Intelligence Committee.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 16th, the National Assembly Intelligence Committee held a plenary session and received a report from the NIS regarding allegations of illegal surveillance. Initially, the Intelligence Committee requested the NIS to submit a list related to the illegal surveillance allegations, but it was reported that the list was not received.

Kim Byung-gi of the Democratic Party of Korea and Ha Tae-kyung of the People Power Party, who serve as secretaries of the Intelligence Committee, stated, "The NIS has not confirmed the monitoring of all members of the 18th National Assembly or the entire list and contents, despite inquiries and verification requests from some members." The NIS explained that the document itself was created beyond the scope of the NIS's duties, and that disclosing non-public information containing personal data could violate laws, so it was not reviewed.

However, the NIS also explained, "If two-thirds or more of the full members of the Intelligence Committee pass a resolution, we are actively considering reporting on the condition of non-disclosure."

Regarding the background of collecting information such as data on National Assembly members, the NIS explained that it was conducted at the request of the Civil Affairs Office during the Lee Myung-bak administration. The secretaries of the ruling and opposition parties on the Intelligence Committee stated, "When the prosecution, National Tax Service, and police provide data to the NIS, the NIS creates a database and updates the data regularly, and when the Civil Affairs Office requests the data, it submits it in the form of a report."

The illegal surveillance by the NIS was halted immediately after the current government took office by stopping domestic intelligence collection activities. The NIS did not confirm whether related information collection occurred during the Park Geun-hye administration. The NIS explained to the Intelligence Committee, "There is a continued possibility, but it has not been confirmed."

Regarding the fact that surveillance allegations during the Park Geun-hye administration were not confirmed, the secretaries of the ruling and opposition parties explained, "Because the sealed documents were not unsealed." They said that if the NIS Truth Investigation Committee is formed later, the seal will be lifted at that time.

The scale of the surveillance was also not identified for the same reason. The secretaries of the ruling and opposition parties said, "Although it is not clearly revealed, judging from various materials, it seems that the surveillance was conducted comprehensively, including not only National Assembly members but also local government heads and cultural figures."

Additionally, it was revealed that the NIS requested the National Assembly to enact a special law related to this issue. The secretaries of the ruling and opposition parties said, "Director Park Ji-won of the NIS used the expression 'dark history of illegal surveillance by the NIS,' and there was a request to create a special law to deal with this dark history." The reason for requesting such legislation was explained as follows: "Individual files contain not only lawful information but also illegal information and state secrets, so to verify the contents for disposal and to distinguish between lawful and unlawful information and confidentiality, related laws are necessary."

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