hankyoreh

The controversy about illegal American surveillance and wiretapping overseas just keeps getting bigger and bigger. In recent days, foreign media ran reports suggesting that the US listened in on the telephone conversations of the leaders of 35 countries.

The reports drew upon classified documents from the US National Security Agency leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. On the list of these leaders is German chancellor Angela Merkel. One report suggested that the US was tapping her cell phone for more than 10 years.

Germany and the other involved countries have shown that they won’t put up with American wiretapping. Germany said that it will send the highest official in its intelligence service to the US this week to demand an explanation and investigation into the alleged surveillance of Merkel.

The administration of US President Barack Obama is facing a serious crisis of trust from its allies. Along with Brazil, another country mentioned in the reports, Germany is pushing for a resolution in the UN General Assembly that would block American spying.

The problem here is South Korea. South Korean government officials announced on Oct. 27 that they had asked the American government to confirm whether the South Korean president was included on the list of the leaders of 35 countries whose communications the US is alleged to have wiretapped. The South Korean government has reportedly not yet received a response from the US.

“The US National Security Agency has been eavesdropping on South Korea, too, and soon enough records will be compiled and released showing this,” a former reporter for the Guardian, the British newspaper that published allegations about American wire-tapping, told South Korean media.

While South Koreans will have to wait to find out the truth of the matter, it is entirely plausible that the US wiretapped the South Korean president. During the administration of former president Park Chung-hee, wiretapping equipment was found in the Blue House, leading to speculation that the US had planted a bug.

The wiretapping controversy appears to be spreading throughout the entire world.

The South Korean government reluctantly requested the US to confirm whether South Korea was the victim of wiretapping as well, but it should not think that its job is done. Rather, the government should adopt a firm stance and use diplomatic channels to make that stance clear.

And if it turns out that, in fact, there was wiretapping, Korea must press for appropriate measures. The South Korean government must not let itself be ignored on this matter by the US.

If the US used the War on Terror as a pretext to carry out espionage against the entire world, it deserves to be condemned. The incident shows the superpower’s true colors: using a cloak of morality to conceal the heinous deeds perpetrated by its network of spies.

The US should apologize to the countries that it wire-tapped and take whatever measures are necessary to convince the international community that it means what it says.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]