By Bae Ji-sook
Staff reporter
The prosecutors’ investigation of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)’s illegal surveillance of a businessman is zooming in on a former presidential secretary for labor affairs.
Investigators are expected to summon Lee Young-ho, a former presidential secretary, next week for questioning over whether he was directly reported to by officials from the premier’s office regarding the result of the unlawful surveillance, officials from the prosecution office said Friday.
They said that the investigation team of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has secured testimony that the former secretary “intervened” in the unauthorized surveillance of a businessman who posted a video clip ridiculing President Lee Myung-bak.
The secretary allegedly received direct reports from Lee In-kyu, the former PMO official suspected of having led the illegal surveillance of the businessman, Kim Jong-ik.
The prosecution’s move to summon the presidential secretary comes as three lawmakers of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) were alleged to be the newest victims of the monitoring.
Rep. Jeong Tae-keun and Rep. Chung Doo-un were among the list of those monitored by PMO staff alongside Rep. Nam Kyung-pil and his wife. Nam told a radio talk show that “I heard Jeong and Chung were watched over like I was.”
Nam demanded that the prosecution carry out a thorough investigation to reveal who was behind the unauthorized monitoring.
The three have been opposing what some called the cronyism of President Lee’s elder brother Lee Sang-deuk.
Speculators suspect the unjustifiable surveillance was due to the trio’s public boycott waged against Lee Sang-deuk. In 2008, Nam and Chung as well as 53 young lawmaker-hopefuls of the GNP urged Lee to withdraw his candidacy from the general election to stem possible cronyism allegations. Lee rejected and became a sixth-term lawmaker.
Last year, Jeong and several others again asked Lee to step away from his brother’s business, calling for innovation and restructuring of the conservative party. The older brother vowed to do so. The alleged monitoring started in July last year, a month after his announcement.
A ruling party insider told a local newspaper that “Those who tried to drag down Lee became the main target. It was all about the ‘brother.’”
Meanwhile, the court is considering issuing an arrest warrant for Lee In-kyu. He was questioned by the prosecutors earlier this week over whether he monitored Kim Jong-ik after he posted the video clip critical of President Lee.
The latest revelation is expected to deal Lee a major blow and the three PMO staffers who assisted him. They are also suspected of observing some opposition party lawmakers and others, though their mission is to monitor civil servants only. The opposition Democratic Party asked for the National Assembly probe as well as a special prosecutor to handle the issue.