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| Rep. Kim Han-gil, fourth from left, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), together with other DP members, marches down the street from Seoul Plaza to Gwanghwamun Square, Thursday, to criticize the National Intelligence Service (NIS) accused of posting more than 1.2 million Twitter comments to exert influence in the 2012 presidential election. The party called for an immediate launch of a special probe into the NIS election meddling scandal. / Yonhap |
By Jun Ji-hye
Prosecutors said Thursday that National Intelligence Service (NIS) agents posted more than 1.2 million Twitter comments during a smear campaign targeting opposition candidates in the run-up to last year's presidential election.
Among the comments, approximately 640,000 were directly related to the election, while 560,000 were about sensitive political issues.
Based on the findings, prosecutors requested the Seoul Central District Court to allow them to modify an indictment against former NIS director Won Sei-hoon.
Won is suspected of ordering NIS agents to post online comments critical of opposition candidates during the presidential poll.
"All these comments may be in violation of the Election Law and the NIS Law because propagation is a very significant part in elections," said senior prosecutor Lee Jin-han of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office at a press briefing.
Lee explained that the 1.2 million comments were a result of 26,000 original posts that were reposted or re-tweeted.
"We are investigating how many comments the NIS agents produced among the original tweets and how many IDs they used," said Lee.
The prosecution alleges that the NIS agents under former director Won used a "bot" program, (which can perform automated tasks) to spread the comments simultaneously in large quantities by creating dozens of IDs.
This is the second time that investigators have requested an indictment modification regarding the case.
On Oct. 18, senior prosecutor Yoon Seok-yeol, former head of the prosecution's special team probing the scandal, requested the court to alter Won's indictment, claiming that his team found 50,000 tweets circulated by the NIS agents. At the time, Yoon added there could be many more than 50,000.
Soon after, Yoon was removed from the team. His superior officers argued that he did not follow legal procedures throughout his investigation.
At the first announcement in June when the prosecution indicted former NIS head Won, investigators said they discovered 73 online comments that were in possible violation of the Election Law.
The ruling Saenuri Party sided with the NIS, saying that there is a very small possibility that a mere 73 comments could affect the result of the election.
President Park Geun-hye also argued in a meeting with Rep. Kim Han-gil, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), that the activities of the NIS did not help her win the election.
Following the second modification of the indictment against Won, the DP, which has been referring to the prosecution's initial announcement as "the tip of an iceberg," took to the streets again, Thursday, 12 days after it folded away its makeshift tents at Seoul Plaza. The party had set up a temporary headquarters at the plaza as a means of protest against the Park government and the NIS.
"It is now clear that the government agencies including the NIS conducted unlawful, systematic intervention in the elections," said Chairman Kim.
Rep. Woo Won-shik, a member of DP's Supreme Council, argued that the prosecution also has to indict former President Lee Myung-bak because of the scale of the election meddling conducted under the Lee government.
"The governing party and Cheong Wa Dae should accept the DP's demand for a special probe into the NIS scandal," Woo said.
