Democratic Party Intelligence Committee Member Officially Demands NIS Submit MB Administration Surveillance Documents

Request for Data Submission Following Intelligence Committee Approval Under the National Intelligence Service Act
Park Hyung-jun, Busan Mayor Preliminary Candidate, Faces Controversy Over Surveillance Involvement, Potential Political Issue

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Members of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee affiliated with the Democratic Party of Korea have decided to demand the submission of specific documents related to illegal surveillance during the Lee Myung-bak administration. Until now, the Democratic Party had requested the submission of lists related to illegal surveillance, but as the National Intelligence Service (NIS) did not expedite the process, they moved to demand the submission of materials through a resolution. The People Power Party opposed this, calling it a political intervention by the NIS.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim Byung-gi, the ruling party's secretary of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, stated after the full committee meeting on the 22nd, "We demanded the submission of the report titled ‘Request for cooperation in managing personal information of key figures such as the Civil Affairs Office and politicians’ prepared on December 16, 2009, as well as all matters related to the organization that collected, produced, and distributed surveillance-related information."

Kim said, "If there is personal information on metropolitan and local assembly members who served during the 18th and 19th National Assembly periods after December 16, 2009, we requested the entire list and any other materials, including lists established by the NIS beyond its official duties."

Intelligence committee members from the Democratic Party demanded the submission of materials through a resolution passed by two-thirds of the committee. Going beyond the usual request for materials, the resolution procedure was taken to impose an obligation on the NIS to submit the related documents.

The opposition party has expressed strong opposition to this. Ha Tae-kyung, the opposition party’s secretary of the Intelligence Committee from the People Power Party, criticized, "The NIS is not fairly clearing up its 60 years of dark history but is trying to selectively and biasedly clear it up," calling it a "new political intervention drive."

Ha said, "Kim requested detailed information disclosure, but what should precede this is an agreement on the general principles of information disclosure regarding the 60 years of dark history and the enactment of a special law," adding, "Only after that should systematic information disclosure be pursued." Ha also warned, "Otherwise, there is a high risk that personal private information and corruption information could be politically abused."

A controversy also unfolded regarding Park Hyung-joon, the People Power Party’s prospective candidate for Busan mayor. Kim mentioned, "The NIS reported that traces of distribution of NIS-produced reports to the Civil Affairs and Political Affairs Offices and the Prime Minister’s Office were found." This implied the possibility that Park, who served as the Political Affairs Secretary during the Lee Myung-bak administration, was aware of or involved in the NIS’s illegal surveillance. On the other hand, Ha said, "It has been confirmed that it is not clear whether Political Affairs Secretary Park (the prospective candidate) directly received illegal surveillance information," adding, "There is a record of the Political Affairs Office being listed as a distribution destination."

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