Ex-spy chief betrays Roh Moo-hyun

Kim Man-bok, a former head of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in the Roh Moo-hyun administration, was found to have joined the Saenuri Party in August. This caused a heated debate on his action. In regards to his joining, Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung remarked, "This means that Saenuri Party has hope," but the public think otherwise with criticisms such as, "This is absurd," "This is exactly who he is," "This is a betrayal," and so on. On Aug 27, he sent his application by fax to the party council, which is located in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul where he lives. His application has been accepted as he did not have any grounds for disqualification.

People in the National Intelligence Service were excited when Kim Man-bok became the head of the NIS. This was because he first got a job in the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (former NIS) through open recruitment. However, his actions after taking the position were not representative of the qualified leader they thought he was. In 2007, when a group of Korean Christians were kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan and then rescued, Kim tried to take the credit by revealing the "Sunglass Man," an intelligence agent who negotiated with the terrorist group and rescued the Christians. One the day before the 2007 presidential election, he visited North Korea and gave Kim Yang Gon, the director of North Korea`s United Front Department, a hint of Lee Myung-bak`s election. He even leaked the dialogue to the press and he resigned as the leak evoked much criticism. These actions show his tendency of taking the sides of the powerful.

Why did he choose to join the Saenuri Party instead of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy where he grew up? Becoming a member of the National Assembly has been his long-cherished dream. When he was the head of the NIS, he, a native from Gijang-gun, Busan, invited hundreds of residents of his hometown to the NIS. Currently, he is running three offices in Gijang. All these mean that he has been preparing to run for election for a long time. In order for him to stand for election in Busan, he had to get a membership in the Saenuri Party. Moreover, he must have thought that he would have a good chance if the party chose an open primary.

With his eccentricity and frivolity, he has been long condemned by both the ruling and opposition parties and called "unqualified." Some call him an "information seller" as he spilled national secrets here and there. Some doubt former President Roh Moo-hyun`s insight for people because he was the one who appointed Kim as the head of the NIS. Kim`s unqualified behaviors and switching sides at his convenience have brought disgrace on the former president who highly appreciated his ability.

jinnyong@donga.com