hankyoreh

By Kim Kyung-wook, staff reporter

Korean studies scholars teaching at foreign universities criticized the National Intelligence Service (NIS) for its political involvement and attempts to manipulate public opinion around the time of last December’s presidential election. They also expressed serious concern over the regression of democracy in South Korea.

On the morning of Oct. 22, 206 scholars from South Korea and overseas, including Park No-ja, professor of Korea Studies at the University of Oslo, held a press conference at the Korea Democracy Foundation in central Seoul.

“The National Intelligence Service’s interference in the presidential election and in politics represents a major threat to the democracy that South Korea has worked so hard to achieve,” the scholars said during the press conference.

“Currently, the NIS is employing cheap tricks to avoid an investigation into its illegal activities and to maintain its power. It is attempting to eliminate its political opposition and to distract people’s attention,” the group said in a statement.

“As scholars with a profound concern for Korea, we want to show our concern for South Korean democracy, which is in danger, while also expressing our solidarity with Koreans. We must ensure that South Korea will never return to the past days of dictators.”

“South Korea is known around the world as a strong example of ‘bottom-up democracy’ and particularly in Southeast Asia as an advanced economy that achieved economic development along with democratic development,” said Jiyoung Song, professor of political science at Singapore Management University. “Because of the National Intelligence Service’s interference in the election, however, it has become impossible to describe South Korea as a democratic country. Democracy in South Korea has devolved to an embarrassing level.”

Allegations were also raised that the scholars had been pressured by the government during the process of preparing for the press conference.

“While we were getting ready to hold the press conference criticizing the National Intelligence Service, there was a scholar who got a message from the South Korean consul saying that we shouldn’t hold the press conference,” said Koo Se-Woong, visiting professor at Yale University. “To be honest, this was a little scary, but we thought that made it all the more necessary to hold the press conference.”

Six academics attended the press conference to represent the 206 scholars, including Park, Song, and Koo.

The other scholars present were Yoonkyung Lee, a professor of comparative politics in East Asia at the State University of New York at Binghamton; Ju Hui Judy Han, professor of human geography at the University of Toronto; and Laam Hae, professor of geography at York University in Canada.

The scholars are planning to carry out a campaign calling for the reform of the NIS.

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