Nat`l Assembly speaker`s secretary implicated in hacking scandal

An aide to Rep. Choi Gu-sik of the ruling Grand National Party is known to have held a drinking session with five political figures on Oct. 25 shortly before a hacking attack on the National Election Commission`s homepage was launched.

Believing that the cyber attack might have been discussed at the party, police are probing how it was arranged and what the participants talked about there.

○ Plotted at the drinking party?

The cyber terrorism investigation team at the National Police Agency said Tuesday that the five, including a protocol secretary to the National Assembly speaker and an aide to former ruling party lawmaker Gong Sung-jin, were grilled Monday. According to the investigation, they gathered at a hostess bar in Seoul`s Gangnam district around 9 p.m. Oct. 25 and drank boilermakers there until 5 a.m. the next day, when by-elections were held.

The secretary called Choi`s aide and the latter joined the party around 10 p.m., police said. Along with the two aides, the five figures also comprised a prosecutor-turned-businessman, the owner of a dermatology clinic and a lawyer. All five denied involvement in the cyber attack, however.

One of the five said, "We gathered to discuss investment in a hospital but never talked about political matters, including the hacking attack on the election watchdog."

Choi`s aide had succeeded the secretary as a driver for Choi when the secretary assumed his post in June last year. At the secretary`s recommendation, Choi`s aide was later hired as a personal assistant to Choi.

Choi`s aide and the secretary got to know each other while working for Choi`s election camp in the 2008 parliamentary elections.

The secretary told The Dong-A Ilbo over the phone Tuesday, "One of my acquaintances who is the head of a hospital was looking for investors to expand his facility. (Choi`s aide) told me that he has a rich friend who runs an online gambling site and is looking for investment destinations. So I called (Choi`s aide) to ask for his friend`s investment."

"The five were well-acquainted with one another, but all of them excluding me saw (Choi`s aide) for the first time that day.”

The friend Choi`s aide mentioned to the secretary is the person who attacked the homepage of the election watchdog at the request of Choi`s aide, according to police.

The secretary left the drinking party around 1 a.m. and Park around 2 a.m. Oct 26, and Choi`s aide and the prosecutor-turned-businessman remained to the end, according to the investigation.

Choi`s aide phoned his friend, who in the Philippines at the time, around 11 p.m. Oct. 25 and both talked on the phone 29 times through the next morning, when the hacking attack was launched, according to police. This means the friend reported the proceedings of the attack to Choi`s aide over the phone.

Those who joined the drinking party told police that Choi`s aide went in and out incessantly to get calls but did not hear of the attack on the election watchdog, adding the only conversation on politics made at the time was a question posed to female workers on if they would vote for the next day.

A police source said, "No evidence of having discussed the hacking attack at the time was found, but we aren`t convinced that they didn`t talk about politics the day before the by-elections though three of them are related to politics."

○ Secretary resigns

With the huge ramifications triggered by the incident, the secretary to the National Assembly speaker tendered his resignation Monday. A source at the speaker`s office said Tuesday, "Before being summoned by police, he voluntarily submitted his resignation to prevent any harm to the speaker`s office," adding, "The resignation will be accepted if his involvement is proven."

"The drinking party was arranged by the prosecutor-turned-businessman because that day was his birthday. I understand that the secretary called in Choi`s aide to introduce the latter to the remaining figures," the source said, adding, "The speaker`s office has no plan to take a stance on this incident."

The secretary was hired as a temporary worker equivalent to a Grade 7 or 8 public official in July last year and was responsible for event preparation.

neo@donga.com sungho@donga.com