<與> Intelligence Committee Chair: "Illegal Surveillance May Have Targeted 20,000 People... Seems to Have Continued from MB to Park Administration"

Illegal Surveillance by NIS Dates Back to 2017... Unrelated to By-Elections
"No Evidence of Illegal Surveillance under Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun Governments"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Kim Kyung-hyup, chairman of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, revealed that the illegal surveillance by the National Intelligence Service (NIS), which began during the Lee Myung-bak (MB) administration, continued into the Park Geun-hye administration, and the estimated number of surveillance targets is about 20,000. He stated that the NIS confirmed there was no illegal surveillance during the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 23rd, Chairman Kim held a press briefing at the National Assembly regarding the controversy over the 'NIS illegal surveillance.' He said, "The NIS has confirmed that there were no orders for illegal surveillance during the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations." Chairman Kim added, "Park Min-sik, the People Power Party’s Busan mayoral candidate, suggested checking the court rulings, so I did. According to the content, it was during the investigation of former NIS Director Shin Geon, and the wiretapping equipment was introduced by the previous administration, with NIS staff following the usual practice. Although there was a public statement prohibiting illegal wiretapping and eavesdropping, the number of illegal wiretapping cases was significantly reduced compared to previous administrations. Since it was not prevented, the director was held responsible and found guilty," he pointed out. He also mentioned, "It is stated as a mitigating factor that the (convicted) NIS directors did not give the orders proactively."

Regarding the illegal surveillance allegations during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, he introduced that "the NIS has also confirmed that there was no illegal surveillance."

Chairman Kim explained, "Political surveillance was ordered on December 16, 2009, by the Blue House’s Office of Civil Affairs," adding, "The order was to collect and manage personal information on uncooperative politicians, regardless of party affiliation, to build cooperative relationships with the government and assist VIP (the president) governance." He explained, "The Office of Civil Affairs coordinated support from the prosecution, National Tax Service, and police, while the NIS created a database, updated the information regularly, and reported to the Office of Civil Affairs upon request." He noted that among the recipients of these reports was the Prime Minister, saying, "It appears this was reported during the Prime Minister’s acting period. Since the NIS is an agency directly under the president, it has no obligation to report to the Prime Minister." This seems to imply the possibility of reporting during former Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn’s tenure.

There was also a claim that illegal surveillance continued during the Park Geun-hye administration. He said, "The NIS director’s response last week confirmed that there was no order to stop the surveillance after the 2009 directive," and added, "Therefore, it can be presumed that the surveillance continued until the reorganization of domestic intelligence under the Moon Jae-in administration." He further explained, "Personal information from the Park Geun-hye administration period has also emerged, confirming that the surveillance continued."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

There was also an analysis that the scale of surveillance could reach 20,000 people. Chairman Kim said, "It is estimated that there are about 200,000 documents related to abnormal personal information collection (illegal surveillance)," and added, "Although the exact number of targets is not disclosed, if we estimate about 10 documents per person on average, the number of surveillance targets would be around 20,000."

Additionally, he denied allegations that the NIS is conducting information operations through illegal surveillance. Chairman Kim pointed out, "The opposition party claims that the NIS is deliberately leaking this information," but said, "The NIS is making every effort not to release the materials." He continued, "This was carried out according to the Supreme Court ruling and information disclosure schedule, regardless of the by-elections," and argued, "If it were timed for the by-elections, the disclosure movement of surveillance information on progressive figures and critics of past governments, who have been mentioned as surveillance targets since 2017, would have started earlier."