The National Intelligence Service Begins Internal Investigation into Illegal Surveillance during the Lee Myung-bak Administration

It Seems Difficult to Disclose Job Inspection Results Before the April 7 Local Elections

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The National Intelligence Service (NIS) announced on the 29th that it has launched an internal investigation to uncover the truth about illegal surveillance during the Lee Myung-bak administration. It is expected that the investigation results will only be made public after the April 7 by-elections.

On the 29th, the National Assembly Intelligence Committee held a closed meeting attended by NIS Director Park Ji-won and others. After the meeting, Hong Ki-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, briefed the press, stating, "Since last week, we have started an internal audit to uncover the truth regarding allegations beyond the scope of duties targeting the 18th National Assembly members, based on documents requested by the Blue House Civil Affairs Office during the Lee Myung-bak administration after December 2009."

Hong said, "Once the audit is complete, they said they will report to the National Assembly according to the NIS Act," adding, "Until the audit results are released, they will strictly maintain confidentiality about the investigation process to prevent unnecessary controversy." He explained, "The internal audit was initiated to resolve suspicions raised in the National Assembly and elsewhere after the public disclosure of a certain claimant in January," and emphasized, "They will respond cautiously according to legal principles to avoid political controversy."

Regarding the audit results, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, said, "The results will not be disclosed until the April 7 election," noting, "Due to election law violations, the Constitutional Court also advises the government to be cautious about the timing and method of disclosure around elections." However, Hong expressed a different view, saying, "It is not something to be concluded definitively," and added, "If the audit finishes early and can be reported early, there is no law preventing that, but there are concerns."

The illegal surveillance during the Lee Myung-bak administration has sparked a political battle between the ruling and opposition parties. The Democratic Party has raised the possibility that Park Hyung-joon, the Busan mayoral candidate who served as the Blue House Public Relations Officer and Senior Secretary for Political Affairs during the Lee Myung-bak administration, may have received reports on illegal surveillance documents. On the other hand, Park and the opposition parties maintain that he did not receive such reports. The timing of the disclosure of the audit results is also controversial because there is concern that the results could influence the election.

It has already been confirmed that the recipients included the Public Relations Officer and Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, but whether candidate Park directly viewed the documents has not been determined.

Within the Intelligence Committee, there was also disagreement over whether department heads actually reviewed the Blue House reports from the NIS. Hong stated, "The Blue House documents from the NIS are basically distributed to each department head as recipients," adding, "Once distributed, if the department head deems it necessary, the administrative officer shares the documents." In contrast, Ha referred to former Blue House Chief Secretary Lee Tae-hee, arguing, "It varies depending on the person."

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