By Do Je-hae
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has flatly denied recent allegations of spying on the public, but history shows that it has routinely engaged in illegal surveillance of politicians, activists and journalists.
A similar scandal in 2005 is being referred to in the vernacular media attention after allegations that alleged interception of digital communications led to an apparent suicide of one of its officers last week.
During the Roh Moo-hyun administration, allegations were made that the predecessor of the NIS, the National Security Planning Agency, operated an illegal surveillance unit called the "Mirim Team,"under previous administrations
Roh commissioned a thorough investigation into these allegations, and the NIS set up a special team to conduct a probe.
The then-NIS director Kim Seung-kyu held a press conference in August to confirm that an illegal surveillance unit called the Mirim Team was launched during the military regime of Chun Doo-hwan (1980-88) and continued to operate throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium under the presidencies of Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung.
For the public, it was a shock to learn that such illegal practices persisted even after the end of authoritarian rule.
During the Kim Young-sam administration in 1997, the Mirim Team's primary role was to monitor activities of presidential candidates, including Kim Dae-jung, Lee Hoi-chang and Lee In-je.
During the Kim Dae-jung administration, the NIS came under fire for purchasing new surveillance equipment to monitor cell phones and then claiming that it was "technically impossible to bug cell phones."
The Mirim Team monitored more than 5,000 people in politics, government, business and the media.
In 2005, the NIS claimed that the Miriam Team was involved primarily in covert operations against North Korea.
But during Kim Dae-jung's presidency, an NIS official on trial for the Mirim scandal admitted that the team eventually expanded their activities to local figures.
NIS agents have repeatedly hurt or killed themselves after similar information became public.
Kong Un-yong, who allegedly led the Mirim Team from 1994 through 1998, attempted to kill himself at his residence in Bundang, south of Seoul, by stabbing himself in July 2005.
In a memo written before the suicide attempt, he admitted that he retained about 200 tapes of dialogue between powerful politicians, government officials and reporters.
In November 2005, Lee Soo-il, a former NIS deputy director and key witness, killed himself during an investigation by prosecutors into the Mirim scandal.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has flatly denied recent allegations of spying on the public, but history shows that it has routinely engaged in illegal surveillance of politicians, activists and journalists.
A similar scandal in 2005 is being referred to in the vernacular media attention after allegations that alleged interception of digital communications led to an apparent suicide of one of its officers last week.
During the Roh Moo-hyun administration, allegations were made that the predecessor of the NIS, the National Security Planning Agency, operated an illegal surveillance unit called the "Mirim Team,"under previous administrations
Roh commissioned a thorough investigation into these allegations, and the NIS set up a special team to conduct a probe.
The then-NIS director Kim Seung-kyu held a press conference in August to confirm that an illegal surveillance unit called the Mirim Team was launched during the military regime of Chun Doo-hwan (1980-88) and continued to operate throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium under the presidencies of Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung.
For the public, it was a shock to learn that such illegal practices persisted even after the end of authoritarian rule.
During the Kim Young-sam administration in 1997, the Mirim Team's primary role was to monitor activities of presidential candidates, including Kim Dae-jung, Lee Hoi-chang and Lee In-je.
During the Kim Dae-jung administration, the NIS came under fire for purchasing new surveillance equipment to monitor cell phones and then claiming that it was "technically impossible to bug cell phones."
The Mirim Team monitored more than 5,000 people in politics, government, business and the media.
In 2005, the NIS claimed that the Miriam Team was involved primarily in covert operations against North Korea.
But during Kim Dae-jung's presidency, an NIS official on trial for the Mirim scandal admitted that the team eventually expanded their activities to local figures.
NIS agents have repeatedly hurt or killed themselves after similar information became public.
Kong Un-yong, who allegedly led the Mirim Team from 1994 through 1998, attempted to kill himself at his residence in Bundang, south of Seoul, by stabbing himself in July 2005.
In a memo written before the suicide attempt, he admitted that he retained about 200 tapes of dialogue between powerful politicians, government officials and reporters.
In November 2005, Lee Soo-il, a former NIS deputy director and key witness, killed himself during an investigation by prosecutors into the Mirim scandal.
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