KOREA: Wiretaps increased in last 3 years; parties call for reform of NIS

Revelation of actual NIS wiretapping statistics lead political parties to demand for reform with GNP calling for disbandment

The Korea Herald
Monday, August 8, 2005

By Shin Hae-in
 
Seoul -- The nation's spy agents were found to have expanded their eavesdropping of telephone conversations by nearly four times during the last three years, intensifying public anxiety toward possible bugging of their private conversations.

For the purpose of "investigations," the National Intelligence Service increased the number of wiretapping of telephone conversations from 2,234 in 2002 to 8,201 in 2004, the Ministry of Information and Communication reported to the National Assembly yesterday.

Although other investigation agencies including the prosecution and the police cut down their bugging activities from 2002 to 2004, the total number of wiretapping cases was increased 3,256 to 9,150 during the same period due to the NIS' large expansion of such activities, the ministry said.

Although these cases of wiretapping were not illegal, political parties immediately called an inspection of the purpose of the wiretapping, saying that the agency has overused its powers. They also called for the spy agency to be reformed.

"There is a definite need for a tight parliamentary inspection on the NIS in order to relieve the public anxiety and suspicions of the agency's illegal bugging," said Rep. Chang Young-dal of the ruling Uri Party. "Such measures will also help hush the opposition's accusation that such actions continue under the present administration."

The main opposition Grand National Party has accused the Roh Moo-hyun administration of continuing the illegal wiretappings, calling for an independent counsel's proper probe of the case.

The GNP went further by demanding the disbandment of the "suspicious" agency, and an establishment of a new intelligence agency.

"The public no longer has faith in the NIS, which no longer justifies the need of its existence as an agency working for the public," said GNP Rep. Lee Jae-oh, adding that the NIS was inherited from past dictatorial administrations and must be disbanded immediately.

Meanwhile, Kim Ki-sam, the former intelligence agent who first disclosed news of the agency's wiretapping team "Mirim" to local media, said over the weekend that the illegal activity largely increased when former President Kim Dae-jung took office in 1998, and alleged that the operations did not stop until late 2002.

The NIS' reports last week are at odds with Kim's remarks, as the agency said that although the illegal wiretappings of high-profile figures continued under the former Kim administration, they came to an end in March 2002.

The agency had also emphasized that it does not conduct illegal wiretapping any more, and dismissed the mounting allegations that it was still keeping up its secretive bugging operations under the incumbent Roh administration.

By alleging falsehood in the NIS' previous report, Kim indicated that such illegal operations may still be ongoing.

"It doesn't make any sense why the agency would say it decided to stop the eavesdropping activity in March 2002, when the bugging unit was not disbanded until sometime between September and October that year," Kim was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.

The wiretapping scandal has been snowballing for over two weeks after local TV station MBC reported of an illegally bugged conversation between Ambassador to the United States, Hong Seok-hyun and a Samsung executive Lee Hak-soo in 1997.

According to the conversation, Hong, who had then been the chairman of local daily JoongAng Ilbo, volunteered to deliver Samsung's handout of illegal campaign funds to candidates of the 1997 presidential elections.

The discussion included a proposal to hand over 3 billion won to Lee Hoi-chang, then the candidate of the New Korea Party, a predecessor of the GNP.

The tape was confirmed to have been secretly recorded by the intelligence agency's wiretapping unit Mirim.

Over the mounting allegations, Hong was forced to offer his resignation from his post in Washington, while the industrial giant Samsung suffers from escalating allegations of offering dirty money to prominent political figures.

Samsung's Lee Hak-soo will be summoned by the prosecution tomorrow for questioning over bribery allegations.

Spy agency heads play power broker role

By Jin Hyun-joo
 
Seoul -- Heads of the nation's spy agency have always exercised great power by playing a role as a power broker and bolstering the authority of the president by fair means or foul.

But throughout Korean history, some ended up being prosecuted for their illegal acts and others suffered hardships, even death, after losing the confidence of their presidents.

For example, former intelligence chief Kim Hyeong-wook was killed in 1979 by Korean spy agents after fled to the United Stated because of the row with dictator Park Jung-hee, the National Intelligence Service recently revealed.

In the current wiretapping scandal, Chun Yong-taek, has come under fire again for his involvement in the bugging operations of high-profile figures. He was chief of NIS in 1999 during the Kim Dae-jung administration in which the NIC admitted that its illegal wiretapping operations did not stop until 2002.

But Moon Hee-sang, a ruling Uri Party lawmaker and a former NIS executive under the Kim government, denied the NIS' confession, saying the intelligence arm did not illegally eavesdrop on any key figures during his term.

Chun stepped down in just seven months after he was appointed in 1999 after telling reporters that Samsung Group relayed slush funds to presidential candidate Kim Dae-jung in 1997 through a media executive Hong Seok-hyun, then publisher of major JoongAng Ilbo Daily. Chun added, after 1997, Kim Dae-jung did not receive any illegal political funds.

Chun is suspected of being aware of wiretapping operations given that his slip of the tongue to reporters came days after Kong Un-young, the former leader of the NIS' bugging team, returned his tapes to the intelligence arm.

Kong, who headed the special wiretapping team, "Mirim," ahead of the 1997 presidential election, was arrested last Thursday on a charge of violating the information secrets protection law.

The prosecution examined jottings and notebooks which were seized in Chun's house last week and plans to summon him this week for questioning.

Other former intelligence chiefs had miserable ends through Korean modern history.

Intelligence heads during the military dictatorship hit rock bottom after they lost favor with their presidents.

Kim Hyeong-wook enjoyed power between 1963 and 1969 as intelligence chief under Park Jung-hee, but was forced to exile to the United States when he became at odds with Park.

As Kim became a critic of the Park administration, Kim's successor Kim Jae-kyu ordered his agents to kidnap Kim to France and murder him, according to the NIC's investigation.

Later in 1980, Kim Jae-kyu, intelligence agency chief from 1976, was hanged for shooting Park to death in 1979. Kim claimed his assassination was to end Park's dictatorship and bring democracy to the country.

Kwon Young-hae, intelligence chief between 1994 and 1997 during the Kim Yong-sam administration, was humiliated after the shift of the government to Kim Dae-jung. Kwon was prosecuted four times on charges of being involved in secret political maneuverings against Kim Dae-jung during the 1997 election campaign as well as other accusations.

In the future, hardship of the heads of the intelligence arm are likely to continue as some of them are about to be investigated for their alleged involvement in wiretapping operations.

The wiretapping scandal emerged two weeks ago when the local MBC TV station carried a report about an illegal wiretapped conversation between Ambassador to the United States Hong Seok-hyun, then publisher of the conservative JoongAng Ilbo, and Samsung executive Lee Hak-soo discussing a proposal to give billions of won to candidates in the 1997 presidential election.

Hong tendered his resignation from his Washington post amid the bugging scandal.

William Park, a 58-year-old New Yorker, was arrested on suspicion of leaking copies of wiretapped tapes to MBC after obtaining them from Kong.

Date Posted: 8/8/2005