hankyoreh

Nov. 17. (Photo by Kim Gyoung-ho) 　　

By Ko Na-mu

A confirmed memo by a police superintendent has led to allegations that the Public Ethics Office of the Prime Minister’s Office, which conducted illegal surveillance of civilians including Kim Jong-ik, may have carried out surveillance of other civilians including such as singers and entertainment management officials. Recent allegations say that a National Intelligence Service (NIS) official, who was dispatched to the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) and the Public Ethnics Office, conducted illegal surveillance of then-NIS Director Kim Sung-ho and ruling and opposition party politicians including then-Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Chung Se-kyun and Grand National Party (GNP) Lawmaker Lee Sung-hun.

During a meeting of the Special Committee on Budgets and Accounts on Wednesday, Democratic Party Lawmaker Lee Seok-hyun said in a policy inquiry, “An important discovery was made in the notebook of Gyeonggi Police Superintendent Kwon Jung-gi, who was dispatched to the Public Ethics Office and was punished on charges of concealing evidence regarding the illegal surveillance.” Lee went on to say, “In a memo written during a meeting at 10 a.m. on July 8, just after the investigation into the surveillance had been ordered, Kwon wrote that surveillance had also been conducted on an entertainment management company and a trot singer.”

About the singer, Kwon wrote that he was a trot singer in his late 20s to early 30s, represented by a certain management company, that he was out on bail after being accused of sexually assaulting a female singer represented by the same management. Kwon also wrote that the singer was undergoing trial, and that the victim’s testimony would be from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Lee said, “In the notebook, there were also two interim reports on current affairs program ‘PD Notebook,’ so it appears that he also tried to cover up surveillance of a figure connected to PD Notebook.”

“There was a memo that said the Public Ethics Office had gathered information to use as a countermeasure prior to their testimony to prosecutors, including records of personal details regarding top prosecutors, including Chief Prosecutor Oh Jeong-don, as well as the occupations of their spouses,” Lee said

There was also a claim that an NIS administrative officer dispatched directly to the Cheong Wa Dae conducted his own surveillance without going through the Public Ethics Office. Based on a tip, Lee claimed that Lee Chang-hwa, a former Cheong Wa Dae administrative officer who worked with Vice Minister of Knowledge Economy Park Young-june when the latter was presidential secretary for planning and management, twice carried out targeted surveillance of then-NIS director (and now attorney) Kim Sung-ho immediately after the launch of the Lee Myung-bak administration.

“The administrative officer, after the launch of the new administration, told presidential secretary for civil affairs Lee Jong-chan that Kim, a graduate of a high school in Busan, took care of only pro-Roh officials from the Busan-South Gyeongsang Province region, and that his administration of the NIS was a problem,” said Lawmaker Lee. “This became an opportunity to seek Kim’s removal.”

According to Lee, there were a number of major targets of surveillance. These included former NIS Director Kim, who used his ties with figures from Busan and South Gyeongsang Province to keep in check another NIS faction surrounding Kim Ju-seong, an aide to President Lee’s elder brother and former National Assembly speaker Lee Sang-deuk. Targets also included the wives of GNP lawmakers Jeong Tae-keun and Chung Doo-un, who led a movement to get Lee to step down as speaker. They included former NIS Vice Director Jeon Ok-hyeon, an aide to Minister Lee Jae-oh, who participated in the movement to get Lee to step down, and his wife, too. Also included were Lawmaker Lee Sung-hun, a member of the pro-Park faction, and former Democratic Party Chairman Chung.

In response, an NIS official told the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, “The incident took place while the NIS figure in question was at the Cheong Wa Dae, so I know nothing about it.”

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