Ruling party boycotts probe of NIS

By Jun Ji-hye

Rep. Jung Cheong-rae, right, of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), together with other party members, visits the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in southern Seoul, Friday, to protest its Director Nam Jae-joon’s failure to appear at the National Assembly Special Committee’s questioning session on the NIS’s alleged meddling in the 2012 presidential election. / Yonhap

The parliamentary investigation into the spy agency’s alleged intervention in last year’s Dec. 19 presidential election came to a sudden halt Friday due to a boycott by the ruling party.

Members of the ruling Saenuri Party and spy agency head Nam Jae-joon did not attend a session of questioning in front of the National Assembly Special Committee, demanding that it should only proceed behind closed doors.

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) unilaterally opened the session, saying that it should be open to the public.

But they soon had to suspend it because there was nothing to do without the relevant figures in attendance to face questions.

The DP condemned the ruling party and chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), saying that it will exhaust every means possible to punish Nam, including pushing for a motion to impeach him.

The parliamentary investigation is entrusted with digging out the truth about the NIS’s illegal intervention in the presidential election in which the DP’s candidate Moon Jae-in lost to President Park Geun-hye of the ruling party.

“The session should be closed when it deals with such sensitive matters related to foreign affairs and national security. Based on this, we asked the DP to accept our request for a closed door meeting, but bipartisan agreement did not emerge,” said Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the ruling party, explaining why his party boycotted the session.

DP members claim that ruling party members colluded with the NIS to boycott the session.

“We did not intend to uncover the agency’s secret tasks handling North Korea-related affairs. We just wanted to clarify the agency’s meddling in the election, which was in clear violation of the law. This should be open for the public’s right to know,” said Rep. Jung Cheong-rae of the DP. “I want to know why the ruling party and the NIS are afraid of attending the open session.”

The parliamentary committee has so far conducted two sessions of questions for the last two days, dealing with the Ministry of Justice and the National Police agency.

Its last session targeting the NIS is regarded as the highlight of its investigation.

The opposition party claimed Nam’s absence without prior notice is violation of the National Assembly Law.

“Both parties already agreed to question the NIS last week. The official document asking Nam to appear before the Assembly has been already sent to the agency as well. Nam’s absence is an insult to the Assembly’s authority,” said Jung.

DP’s Park Nam-choon said that his party will file a complaint with the prosecution against Nam.

Park said that anyone who neglects their duty to appear before the Assembly could face up to three years in prison. “Also, anyone who damages the parliament’s authority could face up to five years in prison,” he said.

He added that his party is planning to invoke the parliamentary right to impeach Nam.

The DP visited the NIS in Seoul to protest against Nam’s absence.

“The public has a right to know about an unprecedented NIS’s illegal intervention in the presidential election, and the NIS ought to answer to this because the Assembly is questioning the agency on behalf of the public,” said Rep. Bae Jae-jeung, DP spokeswoman.

The ruling party said that if the DP agrees to carry out the NIS’s questioning session at a closed door meeting, it will immediately resume cooperation with the investigation.

The committee initially planned, after completing three questioning sessions, to visit relevant institutions for on-the-spot investigations and to hold hearings until Aug. 15.