Rep. Ahn to lead opposition probe into NIS scandal
By Kim Hyo-jin
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo was selected Wednesday to head the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy’s fact-finding panel to look into spying allegations surrounding the National Intelligence Service.
Ahn, the founder of AhnLab, the nation’s biggest anti-virus software company, was chosen for the post because he has extensive knowledge and experience in cyber security, the party said.
“The party’s Supreme Council asked Ahn to lead the investigation, and he accepted the offer,” NPAD lawmaker Oh Young-sik said. The panel will begin its investigation next week.
The announcement came amid growing controversy over the agency’s purchase of spyware from an Italian firm ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
Alongside Ahn, 10 to 12 NPAD lawmakers affiliated with the National Assembly Intelligence Committee and Future Planning, Science, Broadcasting and Communications Committee are expected to join the panel.
In response to the allegations, NIS chief Lee Byung-ho acknowledged Tuesday that the agency purchased a Remote Control System (RCS) that can hack into PCs and mobile devices from the Italian tech firm Hacking Team.
He denied suggestions that the software was used on South Korean citizens, saying it was used on North Korean spies and to analyze North Korea-related information.
“The leaked data showed that the NIS requested the hacking firm to develop different bait to spread malware. The bait used included URLs of popular restaurants and a file of the Seoul National University alumni list,” said NPAD spokeswoman Rep. Lee Un-ju.
“Based on the circumstances, it is convincing that the agency was attempting to hack into PCs or mobile phones of multiple citizens.”
She added that Lee failed to explain allegations that the NIS bought the RCS on Dec. 6, 2012, ahead of the presidential election.
Lee said that the NIS bought spyware in January and July of 2012, while speaking to the National Assembly Intelligence Committee.
The leaked internal documents from the Italian firm were released on July 8. They showed that the company and the NIS continued business transactions from January 2012 until January 2015.
According to e-mail exchanges on Dec. 6, 2012, Korean communications company Nanatech, which served as an intermediary for the NIS, requested “an additional purchase of the RCS that can attack 30 targets.”
Chairman Moon Jae-in vowed to investigate the case thoroughly.
“If the NIS is cheating on the public, it will face harsh punishment,” he said. “The agency has a history of lying — former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon was found to have illegally meddled in election campaigning.”
Won ordered a group of NIS agents to post comments online favorable to the then Saenuri Party presidential candidate Park Geun-hye in an attempt to sway voters’ opinion ahead of the2012 election.
The Seoul High Court convicted Won on charges of violating the Election Law, sentencing him to a three-year prison term in February.
The Supreme Court will rule on the case today.
NPAD Rep. Kim Gwang-jin said purchasing spyware might have been directed by Won to meddle in the 2012 election.
“What we need to pay attention to is that the NIS adopted such technology in Jan. 2012, when Won was masterminding a smear campaign,” he said during a radio program.