NIS Directors from Former Kim Dae-jung Administration Plan Countermeasures

It was reported yesterday that former directors of the NIS under the Kim Dae-jung administration have decided to jointly grapple with the illegal bugging scandal involving the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and its predecessor, the National Security Planning Agency (NSPA), and applied for a talk to NIS director Kim Seung-kyu.

After the former NIS directors under the Kim Dae-jung administration, including Lee Jong-chan, Lim Dong-won and Shin Geon, recently met together at a certain place, they were said to have reached an agreement on the above. Former NIS director Cheon Yong-taek was reportedly not in contact with them.

They reportedly submitted a media contact application form to NIS director Kim. They were also said to have reached an agreement in which “under the Kim Dae-jung administration, the NIS had conducted legal wiretappings by warrants issued from courts, or approval from chief judges of high courts and the president in accordance with the Communication Confidentiality Law, and there was no illegal eavesdropping.”

They have reportedly decided to convey regrets and protests to NIS director Kim, insisting that the NIS announcement in which “it confessed to have carried out illegal bugging operations under the Kim Dae-jung administration” is not true.

After hearing their plan, former president Kim Dae-jung was also said to have strongly backed it.

Depending on the results of the talk with NIS director Kim, they are reviewing a measure in which they will hold a joint press conference in a bid to express their positions publicly.

According to the NIS Personnel Law, in the event that former and incumbent employees of the NIS plan to state their duties related to something obtained while in office in response to media contacts or investigations by the prosecution, they are supposed to seek preliminary permission from the NIS director.

Meanwhile, it was reported that the bugging investigation team of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office informed Cheon Yong-taek, who was then the NIS director, when Gong Un-young (arrested), the former head of the illegal bugging team, codenamed Mirim, secretly hoarded illegal recorded tapes and recording logs in 1999, and Oh Jeong-so, who was then-chief manager of the NSPA when the Mirim team had been run, of a summons on August 23 and 24.

In addition, the prosecutors revealed that they would summon one to two figures, including then-NSPA directors and chief mangers in charge of domestic affairs when the Mirim team had operated, for questioning on related things this week.

The then-chief managers of the spy agency were Oh and Park Il-ryong, and Kim Deok and Kwon Young-hae served as the then-NSPA directors.

The prosecution is planning to indict Gong, who leaked illegal bugging materials, on charges of attempted extortion and the divulgence of secrets (violation of the NIS Personnel Law) on August 23.

woogija@donga.com