NIS chief urged to quit over spying allegations
By Na Jeong-ju
The country’s intelligence chief is facing growing calls from not only opposition parties but also some ruling Grand National Party (GNP) lawmakers to resign from his post over the alleged spying on Indonesian delegates by his agents last week.
The National Assembly Intelligence Committee will convene a meeting as early as next week to discuss the case, and possibly the fate of National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Won Sei-hoon, party officials said.
Won, 60, was named spy chief in January 2009, although he had no experience in any related fields. He served as a vice mayor of Seoul City when President Lee Myung-bak was mayor.
“According to media reports, three NIS agents made a failed attempt to steal classified information on planned arms deals between Seoul and Jakarta. It’s very shameful, if the reports are true,” Rep. Park Jie-won, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said in a speech at the National Assembly, Tuesday.
“We believe Won should take full responsibility for the incident. I urge President Lee to sack him immediately and take measures to restore public confidence in the intelligence agency.”
Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, a member of the GNP’s decision-making Supreme Council, also wrote on Twitter that the Indonesian case revealed that the NIS has a long way to go to become a globally competitive agency, suggesting that he step down.
Cheong Wa Dae appears to be at a loss as criticism is mounting over the spy scandal although the NIS has yet to admit any involvement in the act of espionage on the Indonesians.
Critics say it was unethical for the NIS to spy on a foreign delegation, which was visiting the country for talks on economic and defense cooperation.
The agency is also under fire for its poor intelligence work.
Media reports, citing unnamed intelligence and police sources, say the agents — two men and one woman — broke into a Seoul hotel room being used by the Indonesian delegates on Feb. 16 right after they had left for Cheong Wa Dae for a scheduled meeting with President Lee.
A delegation member, who was staying at the hotel, entered the room while the agents were trying to download files onto a USB memory stick from a laptop computer.
Initially, they tried to run away with the computer, but eventually handed it over to the Indonesian after a brief scuffle, according to reports.
“It’s obviously wrong to spy on foreign delegates. However, spying is one thing and training agents is another,” the minor opposition Liberty Forward Party said in a statement.
“We were surprised at the substandard level of the NIS agents. The Indonesian case was an intelligence fiasco.”
On Monday, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said the intrusion into their hotel room in Seoul was a “misunderstanding,” describing the three apparent intruders as hotel guests who happened to enter the wrong room.
“Instead of entering their own room, 1961, the guests unintentionally entered room 2061, which belonged to an Industry Ministry official,” said Hatta on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting, according to the Jakarta Post.
Seoul has engaged in negotiations with Jakarta to export the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer jet, the indigenous K2 Black Panther battle tank and conventional weapons, including portable surface-to-air missiles.
Some observers are worried that the planned arms deal with Indonesia has been thrown into question.
The 50-member high-level delegation of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived in Seoul on Feb. 15 for a three-day visit and returned home Thursday.
야당, 국정원장 사퇴 공세 펴
원세훈 국정원장은 지난주 발생한 `인도네시아 특사단 숙소 잠입 사건'과 관련 야당뿐만 아니라 일부 여당 의원으로 부터도 사퇴 압력을 받고 있다.
국정원이 방한 중이었던 인도네시아 특사단에 대한 첩보활동에 연루되었다고 인정하지는 않고 있으나 잠입사건에 대한 비판이 고조되면서 청와대는 곤혹스러워하고 있다.
“언론보도에 따르면 국정원 직원 3명이 한국과 인도네시아간의 무기거래에 대한 비밀을 빼내려 한 것이 실패했다고 한다. 이 보도가 사실이라면 이는 창피한 일이다”고 민주당의 박지원 원내대표가 22일 국회 교섭단체 대표연설을 통해 밝혔다.
“원세훈 국정원장은 이 사건에 대해 전적인 책임을 져야 합니다. 나는 이명박 대통령이 원세훈원장을 파면하고 국정원이 신뢰를 회복하도록 즉각적으로 조치를 취할 것을 촉구한다”고 박 원내대표는 말했다.