By Yi Whan-woo
The prosecution has demanded a three-year prison sentence for a former aide of President Lee Myung-bak who is on trial for his alleged involvement in the surveillance of citizens.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said Thursday that Park Young-june, also a former vice knowledge and economy minister, ordered officials to monitor private companies that were bidding for an industrial complex project in Ulsan.
The prosecution arrested Park, 52, in May on charges of bribery in a separate case surrounding the land development project in southern Seoul. The former official of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was accused of abusing his authority.
Investigators brought the additional charges against him due to his alleged role in the surveillance scandal that rocked the country in March.
A team of PMO officials allegedly spied on government officials, politicians, entrepreneurs and citizens who were critical of the Lee administration.
Park was indicted for ordering surveillance on officials of Ulsan local government and several private construction companies in October 2008 in return for money from rival companies bidding for the industrial complex project there.
The prosecution also sought a four-year jail term for another former PMO official, Lee Young-ho, who was indicted on the same charges as Park. Lee, a former presidential secretary for labor, also allegedly ordered his colleagues to destroy evidence when the scandal emerged.
“I fully regret abusing my authority to cover up the allegation,” Lee said. However, he denied that he ordered illegal surveillance of civilians or private firms.
Prosecutors sought a one-and-a-half year prison term for Lee In-kyu, the former head of the Civil Service Ethics Division at the PMO. He was indicted for orchestrating the illegal surveillance of Kim Jong-ik, head of KB Hanmaum, who posted a message critical of President Lee on his blog.
The scandal first erupted in 2010, but prosecutors concluded the case without bringing charges against any officials. .
A second investigation was launched in March after Chang Jin-soo, a former PMO staff member, revealed the spying activities of the office as well as its attempt to cover up the allegation.
The verdicts on Park and the two other officials will be delivered on October 10.