Rep. Min Byung-doo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, raises allegations of illegal surveillance by the National Intelligence Service under ex-President Lee Myung-bak in a press conference at the National Assembly, Tuesday. / Yonhap



By Choi Ha-young



The National Intelligence Service (NIS) under former President Lee Myung-bak snooped on opposition politicians and civic activists, using a fund for counter-espionage activities against North Korea, a ruling party lawmaker claimed Tuesday.

The latest claim could affect the ongoing trial of former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon, and the prosecution's possible investigation of Lee.

According to Rep. Min Byung-doo of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the spy agency headed by Won diverted the NIS's "special activity fund," which was assigned for its counter-espionage activities against North Korea, to spy on people critical of Lee.

"The NIS conducted the illegal surveillance from February 2009 to 2013," Rep. Min said in a press conference. "I believe Lee was obviously aware of the illicit project and was briefed about its progress, since the surveillance kept going on despite the personnel shifts in the NIS." According to Min, those who were subject to the illegal inspection include Park Won-soon, Choi Moon-soon, Han Myeong-sook, Park Jie-won and Jeong Yeon-ju.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was a popular civic activist in the 2000s before he ran for mayor in 2011 as an independent candidate. Choi, who is spearheading the PyeongChang Winter Olympics as governor of Gangwon Province, was a leading lawmaker in the Democratic Party (DP), the predecessor of the DPK.

Han, former prime minister under liberal ex-President Roh Moo-hyun, also ran in the 2011 Seoul mayoral election as a nominee of the DP. Park Jie-won, a lawmaker of then People's Party, was floor leader of the DP in 2010. Jeong, a former president of the largest public broadcaster KBS during the Roh administration, was fired by Lee in 2008.

It has been widely rumored that the NIS was engaged in a smear campaign against Park Won-soon. In 2013, local media unveiled an alleged NIS document that stipulated its strategy to counter the mayor's "leftist" policies.

"The NIS allegedly drew up the document at the time when the agency conducted this illicit surveillance, though I don't have a full grasp of its entire engagement in domestic politics," Min said. "To clarify the suspicions, I believe the prosecution will summon the intelligence officials involved."

The surveillance against Han was aimed at securing evidence to prove she took illegal political funds, Min said. "The taskforce's chief surnamed K ordered team members to snoop on the victims' emails, saying ‘if you bring solid evidence, you will be promoted.'"

The lawmaker urged the prosecution to look into the exact amount of money funneled for the wrongdoings. "Now we have one more reason to arrest and investigate Lee," he said.

Rep. Min's exposure is likely to widen the prosecution's investigation into a series of alleged wrongdoings committed by Lee and his associates. On the same day, the prosecution summoned Lee's older brother Lee Sang-deuk, over an allegation of Cheong Wa Dae receiving the special activity funds from then-NIS chief Won.

According to the prosecution, Lee's Cheong Wa Dae allegedly received 500 million won ($466,000) from the NIS's special activity funds. One of his aides, Kim Hee-joong, said during questioning that Lee was aware of the bribery and some of the money was given to Lee's wife Kim Yoon-ok.

The prosecution is also stepping up its investigation into the ownership of DAS, a scandal-ridden automotive company allegedly owned by Lee. The company was at the center of the stock-rigging scandal in 2001 that caused massive losses to 5,500 investors.