National Intelligence Service, Civilian Surveillance Including Sewol Ferry Victims' Families and Civic Groups: South Korea Truth Commission

The scene at the Sewol ferry disaster site on April 16, 2014 [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The Social Disaster Special Investigation Committee (SDSIC) has revealed that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) conducted illegal intelligence activities by monitoring the movements of private citizens, including the families of the Sewol ferry disaster victims, civic groups, and media outlets.

On the 2nd, the SDSIC announced an interim report on the investigation results of intelligence agencies' surveillance of civilians at the 114th plenary committee meeting. The NIS supported the SDSIC by providing access to over 680,000 Sewol-related documents, which the SDSIC reviewed in a de-identified state.

Previously, the NIS Reform and Development Committee’s Task Force on Clearing Deep-rooted Evils denied the surveillance allegations, stating there was "no clear evidence that the NIS monitored Sewol-related organizations, victims' families, or the special investigation committee." The Special Sewol Investigation Unit of the prosecution also concluded "no evidence of tailing, wiretapping, hacking, or pressure on victims' families" due to insufficient proof.

However, according to the SDSIC, the NIS generated two Sewol-related reports on April 16, 2014, the day of the disaster, at 4:37 PM and 7:12 PM.

One of the documents partially disclosed by the SDSIC included content such as "managing public sentiment and opinion to prevent escalation into government responsibility," and "minimizing dissatisfaction through proactive measures by managing victims' families and their surroundings."

Furthermore, the NIS was found to have monitored media outlets' Sewol coverage trends and gathered detailed private information about executives of the Sewol Countermeasures Committee, including their real names, affiliated political parties, past occupations, personal relationships, and personalities, classifying their tendencies.

The report also recorded the past background and political leanings of the Sewol crew trial judge, and mentioned circumstances where the Blue House’s Office of Public Relations requested media outlets to reduce the volume of Sewol coverage.

The SDSIC’s Sewol Truth Investigation Division reported, "Applying the conditions and concepts of illegal surveillance, the NIS, the Defense Security Command, and the police abused their intelligence-gathering functions, exceeding their official duties by monitoring the families of Danwon High School victims unrelated to their work, grievances of families affiliated with the Countermeasures Committee toward the government, opinion distribution and trends regarding support for external civic groups, whether government-critical civic groups sympathized or refused support, exclusion of political remarks within the families’ Countermeasures Committee, and disagreements and political struggles among family members."