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'Spy agency needs major surgery'
Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Kim Han-gil, right, and other DP members hold a rally against the National Intelligence Service’s political maneuvering during a party convention at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Gwangju, Sunday. They demanded the spy agency be reformed to prevent it from meddling in domestic politics. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
The ruling and opposition parties are calling for the nation’s spy agency to undergo reform, although they differ over precisely what measures should be taken.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) became the subject of a National Assembly investigation for alleged illegal intervention in the Dec. 19 presidential poll.
It has been accused of conducting a systematic smear campaign against opposition candidates during the election.
Senior lawmakers of the ruling party say the NIS needs to be changed and reformed.
“We cannot leave the agency as it is. Bipartisan efforts are necessary to reform the NIS. I suggest setting up a committee for the task,” said Rep. Chung Mong-joon.
Five-term lawmaker Lee Jae-oh echoed this: “Whenever the term of an administration finishes, the NIS head is then accused of having intervened in politics and is sent to jail. The nation’s intelligence agency should not damage democratic values.”
Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, head of the party’s policy committee, also said the NIS needs to be overhauled.
Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, vice floor leader of the ruling party, said his party will consider setting up a special committee in the party to draw up a blue print for retooling the spy agency.
However, rival parties differ over how the organization should be changed.
Members of the ruling party claim the NIS department handling domestic politics should be eliminated.
On the other hand, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has called for removing all bureaus dealing with domestic affairs.
“Collecting domestic information is a hangover from the old days when the nation was under the control of authoritarian rulers. It is definitely necessary to reduce the NIS’s domestic work because it is too extensive now,” said DP lawmaker Shin Ki-nam, who heads the parliamentary investigation task force.
Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the DP recently submitted a revision to the National Intelligence Service Law, which suggests abolishing the collection of domestic information, claiming that this kind of activity is the agency intervening in politics.
Jin argued the functions of the NIS related to domestic affairs could be transferred to the National Security Council.
Saenuri Party lawmakers are opposed to this and claim that the NIS has a positive function in domestic affairs other than politics.
Rep. Lee Jae-oh said he agreed that the division of the NIS that deals with domestic politics should be dissolved, but also that the agency’s original function to track down North Korean spies or industrial spies should be strengthened.
Rep. Cho Won-jin argued: “The NIS’s work related to national security such as anti-North Korea psychological warfare should continue.”
Rep. Choi Kyung-hwan said NIS reform should ban the agency from intervening in the political sector, and not mean an end to all domestic activities. “This could be done by reducing the budget allocated to the agency,” he said.