Cheong Wa Dae under fire over NIS reshuffle
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The presidential office has faced allegations that it suddenly switched its position on appointing a National Intelligence Service (NIS) deputy minister-level official because of worsening public opinion.
President Park Geun-hye was said to have rejected an alleged offer to quit from Lee Heon-soo, who is in charge of the spy agency’s budget and planning, days after a media report that he was pressed to resign.
On Friday, presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook denied that Cheong Wa Dae was involved in the failed attempt to force Lee out of office.
“All I can confirm now is that the presidential office was not aware whether Lee offered to resign or not,” he told the Korea Times. “Technically speaking, it is incorrect to say that President Park rejected Lee’s offer to resign, because she has not been informed of his resignation.”
Min denied a media report that an unnamed high-ranking Cheong Wa Dae official was involved in the NIS reshuffle in September and that Lee, who was appointed head of the planning and coordination division, was forced to resign.
Quoting a source from the ruling Saenuri Party, daily newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported weeks ago that Lee’s appointment was withdrawn a week after the NIS conducted a massive reshuffle, which affected him.
The spy agency named new heads of bureaus and divisions in the headquarters as well as regional office chiefs.
The Chosun Ilbo quoted an anonymous key aide of President Park saying he was unhappy about Lee’s appointment to the key post.
Shortly after this, Lee offered to resign, the paper reported. The NIS denied the claim.
It confirmed that Lee offered to resign, but said it was his own decision because of the age limit. The spy agency stressed that Lee’s offer to resign had nothing to do with political influence from the presidential office.
The spy agency said Lee, 62, was too old to take the helm and that NIS law stipulated that staff aged 60 or older had to retire.
On Friday, Rep. Park Jie-won of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) urged President Park to prohibit her close aides and personal advisers from playing politics in key decision-making, such as government reshuffles.
“What we are seeing in the latest reshuffle malfunctions in the military and the NIS is that infighting among Park’s close aides and confidants is poised to become a serious threat to national security,” he told senior NPAD lawmakers.
Park said he was told that someone in the presidential office tried hard to force Lee out by raising an age limit issue.
“But Lee was able to stay because President Park was furious about the maneuvering when she learned about it from media report,” he said.
The lawmaker denied that an age limit was a key reason behind Lee’s initial offer to resign.
“Lee was 61 when he was appointed to the position in September and therefore the NIS’ explanation didn’t make sense,” he said.