[Exclusive] National Intelligence Service Requests Investigation into Former Director Park Ji-won's Abuse of Power over 'Won Hoon-seok Replacement'

Former NIS Director Park Ji-won Accused of Abuse of Authority and Obstruction of Rights Exercise

Former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Park Ji-won was referred to the police for investigation on charges including instructing the purchase of inappropriate stones during the process of erecting a new NIS motto stone in 2021 while he was in office.

According to a comprehensive report by Asia Economy on the 17th, the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency confirmed that they have been conducting a preliminary investigation (internal inquiry) since the end of last month after receiving a request for investigation from the NIS regarding Park’s alleged abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights.

Park is suspected of ordering the purchase of inappropriate stones for the motto stone and commissioning a specific person to write the inscription on the stone.

Previously, in June 2021 during the Moon Jae-in administration, Park replaced the motto stone with an inscription written in the handwriting of the late Professor Shin Young-bok of Sungkonghoe University, which read “Endless loyalty and dedication to the nation and the people,” to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the NIS’s founding.

The core of the NIS’s investigation request is that Park allegedly designated stones that were not suitable for use as the motto stone and instructed their purchase, and also appointed a specific artist to inscribe the motto on the stone without following the selection procedures stipulated by NIS regulations.

The crime of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights is punishable by up to five years in prison, up to ten years of disqualification, or a fine of up to 10 million won, for a public official who abuses their authority to compel others to perform duties they are not obligated to or obstructs the exercise of rights.

After the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the NIS removed this motto stone in June last year and reinstated the original motto stone, which had been used from 1961 when the former Central Intelligence Agency (the predecessor of the NIS) was established until 1997, and had been dismantled and stored during the Kim Dae-jung administration. The original motto stone bears the inscription “We work in the shadows and aim for the light.”