NIS agents indicted over spy case evidence falsification

Posted on : 2014-04-15 16:11 KST Modified on : 2014-04-15 16:11 KST
So far, only lower level agents being held to account for falsified evidence, while higher-ups not thoroughly investigated
 announces the indictment of two NIS agents without detention on charges of falsification
announces the indictment of two NIS agents without detention on charges of falsification

By Kim Won-chul, staff reporter

Prosecutors concluded their investigation of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) chain of command behind document falsification in the Yoo Woo-sung espionage case by delivering a Level 3 anti-communist investigation office chief to the court.

But their decision not to indict anybody higher up - including the Level 2 anti-communist investigation bureau director who signed off on a memo including instructions to falsify evidence - leaves them open to charges of incompetence and unwillingness to follow the investigation all the way up the line.

On Apr. 14, an investigation team headed by Yun Gap-geun for the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office indicted two NIS agents without detention on charges of falsification, using harmful evidence and drafting and using falsified official documents. In addition to the Level 3 office chief Lee Jae-yoon, 54, the team also indicted Lee In-cheol, a 48-year-old consul sent by the NIS to the South Korean general consulate in Shenyang, China. The office chief Lee was also charged with falsification and use of private documents.

Another agent surnamed Kwon, a 51-year-old Level 4 department director in the NIS anticommunist investigation bureau who is currently being treated for a suicide attempt he made after being questioned by prosecutors, received a temporary delay on his indictment.

Meanwhile, prosecutors decided not to book three higher-ups on the grounds that they “never received reports on the evidence falsification.” They included the Level 2 team director, identified by the surname Choi, along with the anti-communist investigation bureau chief (Level 1), also surnamed Lee, and NIS vice chief Suh Cheon-ho. Suh offered his resignation after the announcement, and it was swiftly accepted by President Park.

Choi, Lee, and Suh are the superiors of Kwon and another agent, a 48-year-old surnamed Kim who is currently under detention, who directed the forgery of evidence submitted in the appellate trial for Yoo, a 34-year-old former Seoul Metropolitan Government employee and North Korean refugee accused of espionage.

No charges were pressed against NIS director Nam Jae-joon, 70. While civic groups had accused him of involvement, the prosecutors concluded that he had not directed the falsification or received any reports on it.

“The working-level agents say that they did not report to anyone at Choi’s level or higher on the circumstances by which the evidence was obtained,” said Yun Gap-geun, adding, “Our investigations of NIS memos and related documents bore this out.”

But while Choi was called in for questioning by prosecutors twice in the investigation, the bureau chief Lee only responded to questions in written form, while Nam was not questioned at all.

The prosecutors also declined to press charges against two prosecutors in charge of the Yoo investigation and prosecution, concluding that they had been unaware of the falsification.

While the National Security Law also includes a charge of “fabrication,” the prosecutors chose not to apply it in the case.

“We made a strict interpretation of the charge of fabrication according to the National Security Act, which carries a prison sentence of seven or more years,” said Yun. “We felt it would be excessive, since [the NIS agents] believed there was evidence of Yoo traveling to North Korea when they forged the documents.”

Following the announcement of the findings, Prosecutor General Kim Jin-tae released a statement expressing “profound dismay about troubling the public in this way.”

“I take very seriously the fact that the prosecutors did not carry out their role properly, and I intend to approach these duties as an opportunity for a fresh start,” he added.

 

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