Saenuri okays probe into NIS
By Kim Tae-gyu
President Park Geun-hye called on the nation Tuesday to remember the bloodshed and lives sacrificed by young seaman to protect the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border with North Korea in the West Sea.
Park said, during a weekly Cabinet meeting on the 63rd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War (1950-53), "We should not forget that so many young people have defended the NLL with their blood and lives."
Observers took Park's remarks as a show of disapproval of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun who questioned the legitimacy of the NLL during a 2007 inter-Korean summit with then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
On the same day, the ruling Saenuri Party agreed to the main opposition Democratic Party's (DP) demand to conduct a National Assembly investigation into allegations that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) intervened in the Dec. 19, 2012 presidential election.
Pressed by the DP on its role in the election, the spy agency released the minutes of the summit, helping the ruling party regain the political initiative.
The agreement on the investigation was made between the floor leaders of the two parties. They plan to present the request to the Assembly today with the aim of getting it accepted on July 2.
Consent from the Saenuri Party came as an effort to appease the DP, which openly suspects that Cheong Wa Dae was behind the NIS revelation; and threatened to push for the dismantlement of the spy agency.
The NIS disclosed excerpts of the transcript of the summit, Monday, saying it wanted to terminate any controversy over the NLL.
The Saenuri Party claimed that the minutes showed the former liberal President's opinion of the NLL. North Korea has never acknowledged the NLL as it was drawn unilaterally by the United Nations Command in 1953.
The DP argues that the transcripts do not provide any evidence to support the Saenuri Party's claim, while lashing out at the NIS. The party claimed that the NIS made the disclosure to divert public attention from its alleged interference in the election.
Former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon was indicted this month on charges of unlawfully instructing NIS agents to post online comments against Moon Jae-in, then the DP candidate, during the election.
Ex-Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency head Kim Yong-pan will also be a target of the envisioned investigation as he faces allegations of having tried to cover up a probe into the NIS's activities.
He allegedly masterminded an announcement just ahead of the election that police had found no evidence that any NIS official had slandered Moon.
By Kim Tae-gyu
 |
| President Park Geun-hye |
Park said, during a weekly Cabinet meeting on the 63rd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War (1950-53), "We should not forget that so many young people have defended the NLL with their blood and lives."
Observers took Park's remarks as a show of disapproval of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun who questioned the legitimacy of the NLL during a 2007 inter-Korean summit with then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
On the same day, the ruling Saenuri Party agreed to the main opposition Democratic Party's (DP) demand to conduct a National Assembly investigation into allegations that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) intervened in the Dec. 19, 2012 presidential election.
Pressed by the DP on its role in the election, the spy agency released the minutes of the summit, helping the ruling party regain the political initiative.
The agreement on the investigation was made between the floor leaders of the two parties. They plan to present the request to the Assembly today with the aim of getting it accepted on July 2.
Consent from the Saenuri Party came as an effort to appease the DP, which openly suspects that Cheong Wa Dae was behind the NIS revelation; and threatened to push for the dismantlement of the spy agency.
The NIS disclosed excerpts of the transcript of the summit, Monday, saying it wanted to terminate any controversy over the NLL.
The Saenuri Party claimed that the minutes showed the former liberal President's opinion of the NLL. North Korea has never acknowledged the NLL as it was drawn unilaterally by the United Nations Command in 1953.
The DP argues that the transcripts do not provide any evidence to support the Saenuri Party's claim, while lashing out at the NIS. The party claimed that the NIS made the disclosure to divert public attention from its alleged interference in the election.
Former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon was indicted this month on charges of unlawfully instructing NIS agents to post online comments against Moon Jae-in, then the DP candidate, during the election.
Ex-Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency head Kim Yong-pan will also be a target of the envisioned investigation as he faces allegations of having tried to cover up a probe into the NIS's activities.
He allegedly masterminded an announcement just ahead of the election that police had found no evidence that any NIS official had slandered Moon.
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