By Jun Ji-hye
The rival parties went head to head Monday over allegations the state spy agency fabricated evidence involving an espionage case of a former Seoul government official.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and independent lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo called for the appointment of an independent prosecutor to unearth the truth behind the allegations. They also demanded Nam Jae-joon, director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), step down.
Meanwhile, the ruling Saenuri Party took a defensive stance, urging the opposition bloc to stop politicizing the issue.
The NIS is suspected of fabricating Chinese government documents to prove its espionage case against Yu Woo-sung, the 34-year-old former Seoul government official who was indicted last year for allegedly using his post to pass on the personal information of some 200 defectors to Pyongyang.
The controversy further intensified after a key witness in the alleged evidence forgery case tried to kill himself last week after being questioned by the prosecution. The witness surnamed Kim, allegedly a North Korean defector with Chinese citizenship, is alleged to have given the agency forged immigration travel documents used by Yu.
The NIS denied the allegations, saying its members will cooperate in the prosecution’s investigation.
Rep. Kim Han-gil, the DP chairman, said appointing a special prosecutor would be the only way to resolve the controversy.
“President Park Geun-hye keeps saying that she will normalize abnormalities at government entities. The NIS is the best example of such an abnormality,” he said during a meeting with senior members.
Commenting on the NIS’s apology issued Sunday, Rep. Jun Byung-hun, the DP floor leader, claimed that it lacked sincerity.
“The statement is just seen as a ploy to get past the crisis facing the agency,” he said.
In its statement, the NIS apologized for causing concerns, saying, if necessary, it will punish those involved. However, it avoided any mention of the alleged document fabrication.
Rep. Ahn joined the criticism. “The government said that the NIS’s alleged intervention in the 2012 presidential election was a matter of the previous administration. However, the forged-evidence case is definitely something the current government and the agency should take responsibility for.”
For its part, the governing party also raised the need for a thorough investigation, but at the same time criticized the opposition for what it says is its intention to use the case to attract public interest.
“The DP should stop distorting the essence of the case. It should not forget that Yu is suspected of having worked as a spy for the North,” said Yoo Ki-june, a Supreme Council member. “The opposition’s call for a special prosecutor is obscuring the matter.”
Rep. Chung Woo-taik, another council member, echoed that comment.
“The key witness Kim wrote in his suicide note that Yu Woo-sung is a spy for sure,” said Chung. “The DP and Ahn should not disturb the direction of the prosecution’s investigation.”
He added, “Everybody knows that they are using the issue to promote the popularity of their decision to form a new opposition coalition party.”