By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

The high court has upheld a lower court's ruling that found two former heads of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) guilty for their involvement in the agency's illegal wiretapping of phone conversations of high-profile figures.

The Seoul High Court Thursday confirmed the sentences on Lim Dong-won, 73, and Shin Gunn, 66, former NIS directors during the Kim Dae-jung administration (1998-2003) of three years imprisonment suspended for four years.

They were indicted in December 2005 on charges of violating the law on communications privacy, and the appellate court acknowledged they conspired in the spy agency's unlawful activity.

``The tapping team operated 24 hours a day and Lim and Shin were aware of the operation,'' the court said in its ruling.

They regularly received reports of cell phone conversations of political and business leaders, journalists and even ordinary citizens, it said.

``Consequently the two were aware that the information was collected through illegal eavesdropping,'' the court said.

``Although the case is important as the bugging was committed systematically by the state agency, we handed down a suspended term because Lim and Shin did not do so for their own interests and it may have been difficult for them to root out the habitual practice that had been handed down from their predecessors,'' the court said.

The court said it could not listen to testimonies from some former and incumbent NIS officials as the current spy agency head had not allowed them to testify, adding the government should revise the law governing the NIS so that agents will be able to testify without the NIS head's approval.

Lim and Shin said they will appeal to the Supreme Court.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr