Prosecutors Investigate Former Intelligence Official in Wiretap Scandal

Prosecutors in charge of the National Intelligence Service wiretapping case (NIS: the former Agency for National Security Planning) are currently investigating Kim Eun-sung, the former head of the service’s domestic affairs.

Specifically, they are trying to figure out if he led the wiretapping activities and reported the information to a small group of powerful figures in the Kim Dae-jung administration.

The Seoul District Prosecutor’s Office searched the homes of Kim and his children and acquired some related testimony and information.

The prosecution found that Kim also “encouraged” his employees to gather information from wiretaps.

Current and former employees of the Science Security Department (then known as Department Eight), the division in charge of bugging, stated that “during meetings, Kim told us to gather highly sensitive intelligence so many times that we were on the verge of a nervous breakdown.”

The prosecution found that the acquired intelligence was reported to the head of the NIS in the form of communication intelligence reports, and plans to investigate then-directors Lim Dong-won and Shin Gun in the near future.

On the other hand, Public Prosecutor General Kim Jong-bin stated regarding the investigation of the 274 tapes, “We are trying to conclude the issue in a way that would be beneficial to the country.”

Public Prosecutor General Kim stated at the National Assembly inspection meeting by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office that “the most important issue in this matter is the infringement of privacy by a national organization. The second one is the information in the tapes,” in response to Grand National Party assemblyman Joo Seong-young.

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