Ex-police chief questioned about political interference

Former National Police Agency (NPA) Commissioner General Cho Hyun-oh speaks to reporters before entering the NPA in Seoul, Wednesday, to be questioned about allegations that he orchestrated an online campaign to boost the popularity of then President Lee Myung-bak. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han

By Lee Kyung-min

Former National Police Agency (NPA) Commissioner General Cho Hyun-oh was questioned, Wednesday, about allegations that he orchestrated an online campaign to boost the popularity of then President Lee Myung-bak and policy initiatives spearheaded by his administration (2008-2013). Cho is the first former police chief summoned as a suspect.

Before the questioning, Cho flatly denied the allegation, saying he never instructed his subordinates to engage in any activities that could be seen as political interference.

“I have maintained political neutrality more stringently than anyone I know in my life. I never ordered political meddling. I only instructed officers that they should respond swiftly to any attempts that defame police through false claims,” he told reporters in front of the NPA in Seoul at 9 a.m. “I don't even understand why I should be here. If I did make such orders, then I should be duly punished.”

Cho also criticized some media reports that described his activities as “clandestine,” saying he had nothing to hide. “Some words used to describe my activities imply that I was somehow secretive in giving orders to police officers. But I reject that implication because what I did was give official orders to 100,000 officers in official work settings, not behind closed-doors.”

Police suspect Cho mobilized two NPA units in charge of national security and intelligence collection to write pro-government online comments about various politically-sensitive issues including the free trade agreement between Korea and the U.S.

Officers at the national security unit allegedly wrote over 40,000 such comments by using borrowed IDs or overseas servers between 2010 and 2012. Those in the intelligence collection unit also allegedly used IDs of their family members to write about 14,000 comments in favor of the government.

The summons followed the questioning of his former subordinates, all of whom consistently testified that Cho was at the top issuing the orders for the organized activities and receiving reports afterward.

Police questioned Cho over why he instructed the officers, how the scheme was carried out through which channels, and which politically sensitive issues were dealt with. They will soon decide whether to seek an arrest warrant for him.

Cho also criticized a recent outcome of the NPA's fact-finding committee which concluded that the police's violent suppression of unionized workers of Ssangyong Motors in 2009 was illegal. The committee said Cho, the then Gyeonggi Metropolitan Police Agency chief, bypassed his immediate superior Kang Hee-rak, then NPA head, and briefed Cheong Wa Dae directly and obtained approval for the use of police force.

“I do not accept such a finding. It is wrong to distort facts about what happened just because those times have passed,” he said.