Truth must come out in intelligence election scandal

Police have been investigated the alleged intervention in last month`s presidential election by an employee of the National Intelligence Service. After scouring websites using some 40 IDs and nicknames belonging to her, police said about 100 posts and comments she made proved to be irrelevant to the election. The employee, however, expressed her opinions 288 times on a left-leaning website by clicking either up or down on 269 posts made by others. Among them were 94 posts about the election, on which she made 99 clicks. Police are trying to determine if these actions violated the Public Official Election Act, which requires public servants to stay politically neutral.

The main opposition Democratic United Party initiated this scandal by claiming that a large number of intelligence agents in a hideout were making slanderous comments on the Internet about opposition candidates. The hideout, however, turned out to be the home of an intelligence employee, and no proof was found that multiple colleagues gathered in her home. Her personal computer and laptops had no comments about the election. All of this indicates that the party`s assertion that the National Intelligence Service intervened in the election was groundless.

What remains is a few questions whether the employee violated election law as a public official on a personal level, which depends on whether her clicks on other people’s posts on a website violated election law. Considering the serious nature of this case, now is not the time for speculation. Police will have to find out whether her boss had her do such an act, if she had ill will in clicking up or down, or if she was simply doing her job related to North Korea.

The main opposition party on Thursday said the recalling of the employee by police is proof that the intelligence agency intervened in the election. Yet no proof seems to support this allegation. The party has provided no evidence to prove the organization`s intervention in the election. Instead, it had the employee secretly followed and monitored and even caused a car accident to find out where she lived. The party broke the law and violated her human rights by practically confining her to her home for some 40 hours. How irresponsible that a political party has not even apologized to her for its acts.

Both election intervention by government entities and irresponsible and slanderous propaganda made by a party are enemies of democracy that need to be eradicated. Depending on the results of the investigation, either the intelligence agency or the party must take responsibility for the case. So police need to conduct a thorough investigation as a neutral third party under a tremendous sense of responsibility. Once the probe begins, it must be continued until the truth prevails.