PM’s office officials quizzed over illegal surveillance
By Park Si-soo
Staff reporter
Prosecutors questioned two officials from the Prime Minister's Office, Monday, in their widening investigation into alleged illegal surveillance of a businessman by the office's civil service ethics division two years ago.
One of the officials, surnamed Lee, is one of five suspected of illegally monitoring the activities of Kim Jong-ik, who posted a video clip opposing President Lee Myung-bak on the Internet. Another, with the family name Kwon, was called in as a witness, the prosecution said.
The 56-year-old businessman is known as a supporter of President Lee's liberal predecessor Roh Moo-hyun. The latest illegal surveillance scandal is widely seen among critics and opposition politicians as a political crackdown on the former President's supporters.
Lee and Kwon arrived at the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul at 9 a.m. Monday, as requested by the prosecution and were questioning for several hours.
Their summons came just three days after the Prime Minister's Office and the homes of the five officials were raided by investigators.
Prosecutors seized computer servers, hard discs and e-mail correspondence records, through which they learned that the five masterminded the illegal monitoring of Kim.
The civil service ethics division is only supposed to investigate government officials.
"The other three will soon be summoned," a prosecutor familiar with the case said, but did not mention any exact dates.
Details of the questioning were not immediately available, though investigators say they have secured "substantial" information.
On Sunday, the prosecution said the five suspects had colluded to conceal some "key" documents ahead of the raid in a bid to scale down the ongoing investigation.
The illegal surveillance allegation, which was brought to light earlier this month by MBC TV's investigative program "PD Notebook" and fueled by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), has become the eye of the storm among politicians ahead of National Assembly by-elections scheduled for July 28. Up for grabs are eight seats in Seoul, Incheon and Gwangju, and Gangwon and Chungcheong provinces.
The scandal is dealing another blow to the governing Grand National Party (GNP) and President Lee, both struggling to recover from defeats in the June 2 local elections.
The President named a new chief of staff last week and will soon reshuffle major ministerial posts as part of efforts to restore public confidence in his government and the governing party. Opposition legislators and liberal media are trying to capitalize on the illegal surveillance scandal, insisting that it is part of a political crackdown on supporters of former President Roh.
Rep. Cho Jeon-hyeok of the GNP, citing an unidentified informant, said Kim established a company in 2005 with the aim of creating slush funds, which were supposed to be funneled to officials of the previous administration.
DP officials have called for an Assembly inquiry despite President Lee's order for a thorough investigation of the case by the prosecution.
"This case shouldn't be wrapped up by simply cutting off the snake's tail," said Rep. Jun Byung-hun of DP, adding that the probe should shed light on the entire chain of command to uncover who ordered the illegal act.
In an investigative report by MBC, Kim said government officials ransacked his company and confiscated financial records, and forced KB Bank, one of the firm's main clients, to discontinue doing business with it.
In the report, two DP lawmakers alleged that Lee In-kyu, a senior official of the Prime Minister's Office, had ordered Kim to be monitored after he posted the video clip in September 2008, in the wake of massive protests against the administration for its resumption of U.S. beef imports. Lee is a member of a little-known fraternity supporting President Lee.
Following the report, the President called for a prompt investigation into the allegations and stern punishment for any illegalities uncovered.