\Most of monitoring cases occur during former government’s term: Cheong Wa Dae





Amid a widening scandal involving government officials spying on civilians, Saenuri Party leader Rep. Park Geun-hye on Sunday called for an end to “wrong, old politics” in which both past and current governments illicitly monitored civilians.

Her remarks, an apparent bid to contain the fallout from the issue, came a day after the embattled Cheong Wa Dae struck back against the main opposition Democratic United Party, underscoring most of the surveillance cases had occurred during the preceding government’s term.

The DUP berated the presidential office for “unabashedly passing the buck” and renewed calls for President Lee Myung-bak’s apology and explanation of what it calls “comprehensive, indiscriminate” spying on citizens.

“(Although I) wish it had not been true, 80 percent of the surveillance documents were made by the former government. This reveals any governments have illicitly monitored civilians,” Park said while on her campaign stop in Busan to support Saenuri Paty candidates.

“There have been many reports that previous and current governments alike had conducted surveillance of me as well. I think we should completely change such wrong, old-fashioned politics now.”

The Saenuri Party proposed a special probe into the alleged cases by an independent counsel, saying that state prosecutors, suspected of failing to get to the bottom of the cases in their 2010 investigation, cannot be trusted.

The DUP, however, dismissed the proposal, accusing the Saenuri Party of attempting to buy time as the general election is just 10 days away. The opposition also noted that the process of getting parliamentary approval for the appointment of special counsel and setting up a special probe team will take several months.

Instead, it proposed setting up a new prosecutorial team to take chare of the cases immediately. The party also demanded the resignation of Justice Minister Kwon Jae-jin, whom it suspects of tempering the initial 2010 probe into some cases.

“The special probe by an independent counsel (as proposed by the Saenuri Party) should not be used to stall for time, with only 10 days left before the general elections. There should be an immediate measure to unearth the truth behind them,” DUP leader Han Myeong-sook told reporters.

“The gist of the issue is that Cheong Wa Dae indiscriminately monitored civilians, which is something unthinkable in a democratic society.”

Breaking its silence amid the intensifying political offensive against it, the presidential office said that more than 80 percent of some 2,600 surveillance cases took place while the late former President Roh Moo-hyun was in office.

Last week, striking members of the broadcaster KBS’ labor union disclosed the documents of surveillance activities carried out by the ethics division under the Prime Minister’s Office.

Choe Geum-nak, senior presidential press secretary, said Saturday that the DUP should stop its political offensive based on “distorted facts.” He added the presidential office is willing to accept the Saenuri Party’s proposal of a special probe.

“More than 80 percent of the cases -- around 2,200 cases of the total the prosecution handed over to the court on a CD -- were not from the current administration, but from the former Roh Moo-hyun government in which DUP leader Han served as prime minister,” Choe told reporters.

Choe added that most of the cases involving the incumbent government were already investigated during the 2010 probe.

“It is regrettable that the DUP revealed the cases as if they were new and use the cases politically, although the cases that took place during the current administration’s term were investigated two years ago,” he said.

PMO Minister Yim Jong-ryong said Sunday that the PMO’s ethics office probes public officials involved in corruption and that it does not target civilians.

“Civilians are not the subject of the office’s responsibility. Should a civilian be involved in corruption perpetrated by a public official, then we would check that civilian’s involvement,” he told reporters.

The high-profile scandal first erupted in 2010 after Kim Jong-ik, a businessman, claimed that the ethics division under Prime Minister’s Office illegally monitored him.

Kim posted a 25-minute video in June 2008 on his blog criticizing President Lee and his policies. He was a member of a group supportive of former President Roh, many of whose policies have been shunned by Lee.

Opposition parties and Lee’s political foes suspected that the illicit surveillance was carried out under the direction of the presidential office to stymie any attempts to impede Lee’s presidency.

The case was brought back into the spotlight after Jang Jin-soo, former PMO official, claimed that senior officials from the presidential office had ordered him to destroy evidence related to the surveillance activities.

After their 2010 investigation into the scandal, prosecutors indicted seven officials including Jang and Lee In-kyu, head of the public ethics division at the PMO. Three of Lee’s staff received prison terms for illegal surveillance.

Three others were convicted of destroying evidence and also got jail terms. They have appealed and are now awaiting decisions by the Supreme Court.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)