Prosecutors Start Probe of Spy Chief
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Prosecutors launched an investigation into the head of the nation's spy agency Monday over allegations he intentionally leaked classified documents covering discussions he had with his North Korean counterpart to local media on the eve of the presidential election last month.
The probe come as Kim Man-bok, director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), admitted responsibility for leaking excerpts of his talk with Kim Yang-gon, one of key aides of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, during a secret trip to Pyongyang on Dec. 18.
The prosecution has concluded that the documents can be classified as confidential and the leak subject to criminal charges.
In the documents, Kim was quoted as telling his North Korean counterpart that President-elect Lee Myung-bak, then frontrunner of the opposition Grand National Party, would win the election but would maintain President Roh Moo-hyun's policy towards Pyongyang.
The NIS chief admitted last week that he leaked the documents unintentionally and offered to resign. But Cheong Wa Dae has yet to decide whether to accept his resignation.
Speculations are that he intentionally disclosed the documents in an attempt to curry favor with president-elect Lee Myung-bak to avoid a disgraceful exit, common among his predecessors.
Spy chiefs have traditionally left their posts in dishonor when a new government has come in. One such example was Lim Dong-won, who served as NIS chief under President Kim Dae-jung.
Lim was sentenced to a suspended jail term shortly after Roh became president, for illegally sending funds to North Korea in return for the first summit of the two Koreas in 2000.
But the transition team of the president-elect criticized Kim's action and called for a thorough investigation.
``Kim breached the national order. It is an unthinkable action by the head of the nation's intelligence agency,'' the team's spokesman, Lee Dong-kwan, said.
The prosecution will first investigate how the documents were created and then leaked.
They do not have a plan to summon Kim, but are likely to question the officials from the spy agency who were ordered to make and release the documents.
By law, public servants who leak confidential information are subject to face the maximum of two years in jail or are suspended from their post for five years.