Students from a number of South Korean universities on Thursday issued statements condemning the National Intelligence Agency for allegedly interfering in last year’s presidential election.

Seoul National University’s student council held a press conference at 11:00 a.m. in front of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office and made a statement denouncing the top spy agency.

“For stomping on the basic principles of democracy with the power of the state, former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon and former Seoul police chief Kim Yong-pan must be severely punished,” the SNU student council said.

Won was indicted without detention last Friday on charges of meddling in the December election, in which then-candidate Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party defeated Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic Party.

The SNU student council also urged the government to come up with specific measures that will prohibit state-run institutes from violating people’s fundamental rights in the future.

The student council of Ewha Womans University, who released an online statement Wednesday on the NIS scandal, held a press conference in front of the school around noon and bashed the agency for “systematically working to help the ruling party retain power.”

It also questioned President Park’s resolve to investigate the scandal.

Student groups at KyungHee University also issued statements urging a thorough investigation of the case. Student groups from several other universities, including Sookmyung Women’s University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Hanyang University are reportedly mulling whether to follow suit.

The lawmakers appeared unable to turn a blind eye to the protests by students, as the ruling and main opposition parties announced Thursday that they had agreed to conduct a parliamentary investigation into the suspected election intervention.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)