[Editorial] ``Leaking Out The Secrecy`` By An Official Of National Intelligence Service

It is not a trivial incident that Mr. An (the chief of a section of strategy against North Korea) has been fired in charge of divulging the secrecy to Mr.Youn, a member of the U.S organization of information. It is the first time for National Intelligence Service (NIS) to expose a scandal by its own member through domestic inspection even if there had been cases that the members of NIS were banished from other countries in charge of spying. Mr. An is insisting that he met Mr. Youn with ordinary affairs, not leaking any secrecy. The National Intelligence Service also said that the information that Mr. An let out to the U.S was not significant; but they did fire him in order to strengthen the official discipline. In short, they fired Mr. An not because he divulged any secrecy but because of his loose spirit as a civil servant. But it is difficult to accept this account as is. Was the information that Mr. An gave to Mr. Youn really insignificant? First of all, Mr. An was a chief of the section of the strategy against North Korea. He was at the core in framing the basic strategy concerning North Korea from the beginning of Kim Da-Jung administration. If this person was hanging out with a member of the U.S organization of information, we cannot buy the account that the information was meaningless. Moreover, it was right after the Youmiuri newspapers’ report on the Peace Declaration of South and North Korea, when investigation on Mr. An began. The Peace Declaration was a confidential event in South and North Korea ;and it was exposed to foreign sources. Thus the National Intelligence started to investigate this and in the mean time the scandal by Mr. An was disclosed. If this being the case, this is not just a matter of strengthening the discipline of the civil servants. More investigation on Mr. An is urgently needed if he leaked out any other significant information. If there is a hole in the National Intelligence Service, it is a hole of national profit. In order to survive in the time of fierce information wars, the discipline of the members of the National Intelligence Service should be strong. And if there are other persons who are responsible relating Mr. An’s scandal, a severe punishment should be in effect. This is the way to keep the National Intelligence Service healthy.