Homes of two ex-spy agency officials raided

Former President Lee Myung-bak enters his office in Samseong-dong, Seoul, Monday, amid a widening prosecution investigation of former National Intelligence Service officers over allegations that they carried out a string of illegal activities to suppress liberals during his administration. / Yonhap

By Lee Kyung-min

The prosecution raided the homes of two former spy agency officials Monday in a widening investigation into a “blacklist,” allegedly created under the former conservative Lee Myung-bak administration to suppress liberal or anti-government figures.

Investigators at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office raided the homes of the former National Intelligence Service (NIS) officials surnamed Choo and Shin in Seoul to secure documents, cell phones and electronically stored data.

The prosecution believes the two were involved in creating and managing the list based on which dissident figures were subject to numerous unjust measures including being moved to different departments or relocated to offices in rural regions.

The two did so while working for an NIS unit that was originally set up under the former Roh Moo-hyun administration to “secure the national interest and strategy,” and strengthen the country’s capacity to become an international hub in East Asia.

However, under the leadership of former NIS Won Sei-hoon, one of President Lee’s closest loyalists, its main task was changed to monitoring domestic politics.

The prosecution said the two were also involved in outlining measures to initiate and increase political attacks against Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, a known liberal.

The raid came five days after Park filed a complaint with the prosecution against Lee and ten others on charges of defamation, obstruction of justice and abuse of authority, on behalf of himself and the city,.

Park filed the complaint after an NIS in-house reform task force concluded that the spy agency under Lee’s direction wrote a document to “suppress Park Won-soon,” based on which NIS officials led systematic efforts to criticize Park online and by organizing rallies against him.