Posted August. 08, 2005 03:04,
The National Intelligence Service said on August 7 that it would withdraw its appeal against Dong-A Ilbo over the dailys report that the spy agency was engaged in extensive illegal wiretapping of prominent figures mobile phone conversations (Page A-1,A-3, October 25, 2002). The appeal was submitted to the Seoul High Court by two NIS employees including Choi on July 6.
One senior official of the NIS said, We decided to withdraw the appeal because we realized that it is unnecessary after reviewing the lawsuit process against the newspaper.
The Seoul Central District Court found the newspaper not guilty on the charge of defamation on April 1. The court dismissed all cases filed against the newspaper on June 10.
Unhappy with the ruling, two plaintiffs filed an appeal to the Seoul High Court on July 6 demanding 400 million won in compensation and the correction of the reports.