KBS reporter faces overseas travel ban for alleged bugging

By Kim Tae-jong

Police said Friday they were considering requesting overseas travel bans on a KBS reporter and an aide to a ruling party lawmaker as part of an investigation into an ongoing bugging scandal.

Investigators are currently reviewing the records of telephone conversations between the KBS reporter, surnamed Jang, and Rep. Han Sun-kyo of the ruling Grand National Party and his aides.

On Tuesday, the court issued a warrant allowing the police to look into the conversation records, according to Yeongdeungpo Police Station.

Jang is suspected of having bugged a closed-door meeting of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and shared the information with Han via an aide.

The suspicion emerged on June 24 when Han cited some DP members’ comments on the disputed issue of raising the TV subscription fee — comments made during the party’s closed-door meeting at the National Assembly the previous day.

The DP claimed the state-funded broadcaster’s reporter planted a bug in the meeting room.

The police questioned Jang over the suspicion that he intentionally changed his cell phone and laptop in order to destroy evidence before police confiscated the items during a raid on his home.

Police had previously seized Jang’s laptop and cell phone, but they turned out to be new, bought on June 30. The reporter claimed he lost the old devices.

Meanwhile, the broadcaster’s labor union called for the company to reveal the truth, Friday.

“The company has taken an unclear and ambiguous stance without properly responding to the allegation and this has simply fuelled speculation,” an official of the union said.

The union also started to conduct a survey on unionists about the matter in an apparent protest.

“We want to hear what unionists think of the allegation and what to do about it,” the official said.

But the company urged the union to stop the survey, arguing it could have a negative influence on the ongoing police probe.

“We’ve already said we’ll fully cooperate with the investigation and come up with countermeasures depending on the investigation result. But the move by the labor union will not do any good in terms of our efforts to uncover the truth,” a KBS official said.