Why did intelligence chief meet Moon's confidant?
National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon has come under fire for getting together for dinner last week with Yang Jung-chul, one of President Moon Jae-in's closest aides.
The controversy over Suh's meeting with Yang, director of the think tank of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), erupted following media reports of their "secret" meeting at a restaurant in Gangnam.
Yang has dismissed all suspicions regarding the meeting, saying it was a private gathering of old acquaintances. Opposition parties immediately raised suspicions that the meeting was to discuss strategies for the general election to be held in April 2020. Main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn said it was not an appropriate time for the spy chief and Yang to meet, even if it was a private meeting. Many people agree with the LKP's claim that the meeting was highly inappropriate and could be seen as a sign the NIS intends to meddle in the upcoming elections.
From the people's point of view, it is very odd that the head of the nation's top intelligence agency would spend time having dinner with someone like Yang, who was only recently named to lead the ruling party's think tank after a long time away from Korea. They had worked together during Moon's presidential campaign, but the timing is not right for the NIS chief and the President's close confidant to meet, with less than a year until the elections. And right now, the NIS chief should be tied up entirely with the security situation on the Korean Peninsula amid the shaky denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea. It seems very odd for the NIS chief to have a lengthy dinner meeting with the head of a political think tank under such grave security conditions. Former NIS chiefs have been prosecuted for election meddling and other irregularities, and the people certainly do not want to see a repetition of this shameful side of the NIS.
Equally problematic is Yang's behavior and attack on the press. He had said many times that he would stay away from domestic political affairs during Moon's presidency. But he made a political comeback as the head of the ruling party's think tank and one of the first things he did after the appointment was get together with the head of the nation's intelligence agency. Minor opposition Bareunmirae Party Rep. Lee Hye-hoon, head of the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee, underlined the inappropriateness of the Suh-Yang meeting, saying that even she was unable to get Suh's contact number during an emergency, such as when the talks between the U.S. and North Korean leaders collapsed in Vietnam earlier this year. Yang blamed the press for meddling in his private affairs, but his meeting with Suh cannot be categorized as private.
Cheong Wa Dae's reaction is also incomprehensible. The presidential office said it had nothing to do with the meeting. But given that Moon had vowed to separate the NIS from politics from the beginning of his presidency, Cheong Wa Dae's explanation only fuels public discontent toward the President, who has already lost face over a series of embarrassing accidents such as the leaking of details of his phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump. As the parties enter election mode, it is particularly important for Cheong Wa Dae to stay out of situations that could trigger suspicions of political interference.
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