[Editorial] What if the NIS, the Military, and Prosecution Face Probes into their Past?

Following President Roh’s demand for confessions by government organizations for their wrongdoings in the past, a storm from the past will likely sweep into the National Intelligence Service, the military, and the prosecution. President Roh is attempting to open full-scale investigations that would go beyond the reach of the first and second Presidential Truth Commission on Suspicious Deaths, which were agreed upon by the ruling as well as opposition parties.

There is no reason to oppose reinvestigations to bring suspicious incidents to light and redress grievances over the tragic deaths. The lack of cooperation by the NIS and Military Intelligence Agency with the truth commission over investigations into the death of Seoul National University Professor Choi Jong-gil and the ensuing deepening of conflict were deplorable. However, if attempts to bring past wrongdoings to light are implemented in such a way that will indefinitely stir the intelligence community, these will lead to a compromised national security posture.

The intelligence community has committed a considerable number of human-rights abuses to protect dictatorial regimes. At the same time, it has been at the forefront of defending the liberal democracy against North Korea’s efforts to reunify the peninsula under its communist mandate. When dealing with the history of the intelligence community, they should consider both sides in a balanced manner.

In keeping up with the president’s comments, the NIS said it would launch a fact-finding committee jointly with civil groups to probe into past wrongdoings. Chances are out there that sensitive government secrets will be leaked to civilian groups. There needs to be sufficient consideration for the self-respect and morale of the intelligence agencies. If the probes into the NIS include espionage cases, it may cause a maelstrom of ideological struggles over the suspicions of torture and trumped-up charges. Once the reinvestigations start, their reach should be minimized to cover clearly suspicious cases only. A probe into an entire organization will cause more confusion.

There should a precondition to the reinvestigations into government organizations: Attempts to weaken the political forces from ancient regimes as a way to strengthen the legitimacy of the current political regime should not interfere.