Lee Jae-oh Dismisses MB Illegal Surveillance Claim as "Swarm of Mosquito Noise"

Lee Jae-oh, Standing Advisor of the People Power Party Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Lee Jae-oh, former senior advisor of the People Power Party and a close aide to former President Lee Myung-bak, dismissed the allegations of 'illegal surveillance by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) during the MB administration' on the 18th as "nothing but political manipulation."

In an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the same day, Lee said, "There is an old saying in Hanse: 'When mosquitoes fly in swarms, it sounds like thunder, and when foam accumulates a lot, it can wash away mountains.' The current administration's behavior is exactly like that."

Lee explained, "There is something called 'IO,' which stands for intelligence officers or coordinators, in both the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations," adding, "IOs visit various ministries, and their daily routine includes reporting things they hear, such as 'So-and-so minister had a meal at a certain ministry' or 'A certain lawmaker acted like this at the National Assembly.' That is their job."

He continued, "When the reports made by IOs are compiled, they are considered a type of intelligence report," and said, "Such reports existed in every administration, including the MB administration. However, calling this illegal surveillance now is nothing more and nothing less than political manipulation."

He added, "During the Kim Dae-jung administration, it was even worse. The NIS chief was even arrested over the wiretapping incident," and said, "That was illegal surveillance, but calling routine work reports by NIS staff illegal surveillance is incorrect."

Regarding whether Park Hyung-joon, a candidate for the People Power Party's Busan mayoral primary who served as political affairs secretary during the MB administration, was aware of the NIS illegal surveillance, Lee said, "Former Secretary Park Hyung-joon is someone who would never get involved in anything illegal, and it was not his job," asserting, "If anyone were to do such things, he would be the one to stop it."

He added, "I know well because I served as a special minister, and each secretary does not interfere with others' work outside their own duties," saying, "They don't talk to each other, nor do they try to find out. So how would the political affairs secretary know what the Civil Affairs Office was doing?"

In this context, former lawmaker Lee Seok-hyun, who served as the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party, claimed in a previous interview that Park might have received surveillance reports.

Lee said, "At that time, (Park) was the Blue House political affairs secretary. Since he was in a position to receive surveillance reports, a sincere explanation is necessary," emphasizing, "MB was in a position to know whether he received reports or not. Therefore, if he claims ignorance, he has an obligation to provide a convincing explanation."

Meanwhile, earlier, the Democratic Party raised suspicions that the NIS conducted illegal surveillance on 18th National Assembly members, journalists, and legal professionals during the MB administration, and launched a full-scale offensive against the opposition party, stating they would investigate the truth through resolutions by the Intelligence Committee.

In response, the People Power Party called it a "low-level political attack ahead of the election" and countered by proposing a full investigation into illegal surveillance during the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations as well.

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