Intelligence Chief to Resign

National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Kim Man-bok expressed his intent to resign yesterday after detailed talks with Kim Yang-gon, director of the United Front Department of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, were leaked to the media. He reportedly visited North Korea and met with the top North Korean official just one day before the Dec. 19 presidential election.

Despite his resignation, the nation’s spy chief could face a criminal investigation for allegedly leaking confidential information to the media in violation of internal National Intelligence Service (NIS) regulations.

At a press conference held at the NIS headquarters yesterday, Kim said, “I deeply apologize to the public for causing this scandal and will resign to take responsibility as the chief of the intelligence agency.”

“I had delivered the information to a media executive on Jan. 9 on condition that the report would not be made public. The report contained information on my visit to the North and the election progress before last month’s presidential election. Consequently, due to my carelessness the report was disclosed to the media,” he explained.

Regarding the purpose of the interview log, he said he carried it out to allay suspicion that his visit was intended to influence the presidential election, as some media had reported on his confidential visit to the North.

“Noting that the disclosure had caused much controversy, I prepared the document in an attempt to prevent suspicion from spreading and from it having a negative impact on the inter-Korean relations. At the same time, I wanted to protect the intelligence agency which had taken a neutral stance during the presidential election. The disclosure was made as part of that intent,” he argued.

The NIS released an additional report to explain that Kim telephoned a media executive and delivered the information via a senior member of the intelligence agency. The interview log that had been reported to the presidential transition committee was presented to his acquaintances which included 14 media executive and former NIS officials.

As for the reason for disclosing the confidential information, he said, “I didn’t think the report was confidential since the content was already made public and the purpose of the visit was not for inter-Korean negotiation but just a routine matter.”

However, the legal community claims that he could face prosecution since his visit as the head of NIS to the North itself is confidential and the content of the talk is secret.

With regard to this move, the presidential transition committee has called for a thorough probe into whether the nation’s spy chief violated intelligence regulations.

Transition committee spokesman Lee Dong-gwan said in a briefing, “He [NIS chief] caused a serious controversy that the director of the national intelligence agency should not have done. If he broke the law, the prosecution needs to look into it.”

“There should be a thorough investigation into the document leak and his suspicious visit to the North. The prosecution is likely to take appropriate measures,” said another member of the transition committee.

swpark@donga.com