Ex-NIS director Suh Hoon questioned over illicit hiring charges

Former National Intelligence Service director Suh Hoon is seen in this May 19 file photo. Yonhap

Former National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Suh Hoon was questioned by police Saturday over charges he had illegally meddled in the organization's hiring decisions.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it summoned Suh for questioning at 10 a.m. and sent him home around 6 p.m. On May 24, the agency had raided the homes of Suh and another ex-NIS director, Park Jie-won, over unfair hiring allegations. The Seoul police are expected to call Park in for questioning in the near future.

Suh served as NIS director from 2017-20, and Park from 2020-22, both under the previous Moon Jae-in administration.

Suh and Park are both accused of abusing their authority as NIS chief in having people close to them hired as employees at the Institute for National Security Strategy, which is affiliated with the NIS.

The spy agency reportedly learned of such hiring in a recent internal inspection of personnel affairs during the Moon administration and requested a police investigation.

Suh, who also worked as national security adviser for Moon, was arrested in December last year over alleged irregularities surrounding the 2020 death of a South Korean fisheries official at the hands of North Korea. He was granted bail in April. (Yonhap)