[Summary] Opposition, on MB and Park Geun-hye Illegal Surveillance Allegations, Says "Should Have Been Disclosed Since DJ Era"

Ruling Party: "Will Thoroughly Investigate Illegal Surveillance Allegations"
Opposition: "Just a Political Conspiracy"

Ha Tae-kyung (right) and Cho Tae-yong, members of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee from the People Power Party, are holding a press conference on the 24th at the National Assembly Communication Office regarding the disclosure of information on the National Intelligence Service's illegal surveillance.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] In response to the ruling party's accusations that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) conducted extensive illegal surveillance during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, the opposition party countered that suspicions from the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations should also be comprehensively addressed. Especially, the opposition party criticized the ruling party for only mentioning surveillance under conservative regimes at a time just before the April 7 by-elections, calling it a clear "political operation."

On the 24th, Ha Tae-kyung and Cho Tae-yong, members of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee from the People Power Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, stating, "We strongly condemn the Democratic Party and the NIS's attempts at political interference," and demanded, "Instead of selective disclosure, all surveillance information from the Kim Dae-jung (DJ) administration to the present should be disclosed simultaneously."

They criticized, "This controversy was triggered through a senior NIS official less than two months before the by-elections, and since then, Democratic Party lawmakers and pro-government figures have been raising baseless claims to make it an issue."

They added, "Illegal surveillance by the NIS is not a recent matter. During the DJ administration, two NIS directors were sentenced to prison for illegal wiretapping and eavesdropping," and argued, "To properly understand and correct the NIS's illegal surveillance issues, all suspicions from the DJ administration to the present must be subject to investigation."

Lee Jae-oh, senior advisor of the People Power Party and a close aide to former President Lee Myung-bak (MB), also rebutted, saying, "There was no illegal surveillance during the MB administration," and "The ruling party is trying to pin this on us because it's election season."

On the same day, appearing on KBS Radio's "Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs," Lee stated, "Illegal surveillance involves wiretapping or tailing. Illegal surveillance like during the Kim Dae-jung administration, when the NIS wiretapped 1,800 people and the NIS directors were imprisoned, is what constitutes illegal surveillance." This referred to the period when the NIS was found to have illegally wiretapped 1,800 people regularly, resulting in guilty verdicts for former NIS directors Lim Dong-won and Shin Geon.

Lee, who also served as a special minister during the MB administration, responded to the question, "Have you ever received reports about illegal NIS surveillance?" by saying, "Since we were part of the cabinet, even if we saw such reports, it wouldn't involve us," and questioned, "Not all cabinet ministers are aware of everything happening in the Blue House, right?"

He further stated, "As far as I know, it is merely intelligence reporting, which is part of the NIS employees' duties," and added, "If there are illegal documents, they should be disclosed." He also said, "The ruling party keeps bringing up Busan mayoral candidate Park Hyung-joon, but that is nothing more than a political operation."

Independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo criticized the illegal surveillance allegations, saying, "It is truly bitter to see attempts to stir up old surveillance controversies to win the Busan mayoral election."

Hong emphasized, "Public officials must live transparently like glass," and added, "If there are so many wrongdoings that they fear surveillance, they should not be public officials."

He continued, "I'm not defending surveillance, but if you live your public service transparently, what problem is there even if you are surveilled?" and questioned, "Is this still an era where political operations work?"

Earlier, the Democratic Party has been raising allegations of illegal surveillance by the NIS during the Lee Myung-bak (MB) administration, intensifying attacks on Park Hyung-joon, the People Power Party's Busan mayoral candidate who previously served as the Blue House senior secretary for political affairs.

Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon stated at the Supreme Council meeting on the same day, "Our party will thoroughly investigate the illegal surveillance allegations centered on the National Assembly Intelligence Committee," and announced, "We will form a fact-finding task force and pursue individual information disclosure requests and special legislation."

Floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon targeted candidate Park, saying, "The publicly released NIS surveillance report from the Lee Myung-bak government clearly states that the distribution offices were the Blue House's Office of Civil Affairs, Office of Political Affairs, and the Prime Minister's Office," and criticized, "Yet, Park Hyung-joon, who was the senior secretary for political affairs at the time, consistently denies knowledge and responds arrogantly, calling it an election operation."

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