Published : 2013-01-31 16:36
Updated : 2013-01-31 18:12
Updated : 2013-01-31 18:12
A National Intelligence Service official who is suspected of meddling in last year’s presidential poll had posted related writings during the election period, police said Thursday.
The 29-year-old official -- identified only by her surname Kim -- allegedly posted at least 120 writings from Aug. 28 to Dec. 11 about politically sensitive issues, including on presidential candidates, according to Suseo Police Station in southern Seoul.
Most of the postings were favorable to the government and the ruling Saenuri party and critical toward the opposition, police said. The law requires government employees to remain neutral in elections.
“In addition to her writing, (Kim) consistently was in favor of the ruling party of the government,” officer Kwon Eun-hui told Yonhap News. “We are mainly focusing on this fact.”
All of Kim’s verified postings were on two websites: online humor website "Oneului humor" (Today’s humor), and used vehicle trading website “Bobaedrim" (Giving you treasures). She allegedly used 11 different IDs to post comments and writings.
As Today’s Humor is widely known for its members’ leftist views, some came to suspect that the NIS had attempted to defame liberal presidential candidates and monitor the activities of the candidates’ supporters.
According to another report by The Hankyoreh newspaper on Thursday, Kim only posted the writings between 9:00 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on weekdays, and never on weekends. This fueled suspicions that Kim posted the political writings as part of her duty as an NIS official.
Last December, the main opposition Democratic United Party said it received a tip-off that the NIS was working to vilify its candidate Moon Jae-in.
The DUP claimed that the “NIS-affiliated psychosomatic information bureau” was working to ensure Moon’s loss in the presidential election, and Kim had posted slanderous comments against Moon.
The NIS denied the allegations and accused the DUP of carrying out “negative propaganda,” and Kim claimed she has always remained politically neutral.
Earlier this month, however, a police report confirmed that she clicked on the “approval” or “objection” buttons on Internet posts regarding the presidential candidates.
Kim said that she never directly posted any election-related writings and that her activities online were only part of her job to monitor pro-North Korean activities. She added that she only clicked the “object” button to subpar writings.
However, the latest police reports indicate that Kim’s testimonies, at least in part, had been false.
This led many to question the credibility of the police investigation, as police promptly announced after just three days of initial investigating that they had not found any evidence of wrongdoing.
By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
The 29-year-old official -- identified only by her surname Kim -- allegedly posted at least 120 writings from Aug. 28 to Dec. 11 about politically sensitive issues, including on presidential candidates, according to Suseo Police Station in southern Seoul.
Most of the postings were favorable to the government and the ruling Saenuri party and critical toward the opposition, police said. The law requires government employees to remain neutral in elections.
“In addition to her writing, (Kim) consistently was in favor of the ruling party of the government,” officer Kwon Eun-hui told Yonhap News. “We are mainly focusing on this fact.”
All of Kim’s verified postings were on two websites: online humor website "Oneului humor" (Today’s humor), and used vehicle trading website “Bobaedrim" (Giving you treasures). She allegedly used 11 different IDs to post comments and writings.
As Today’s Humor is widely known for its members’ leftist views, some came to suspect that the NIS had attempted to defame liberal presidential candidates and monitor the activities of the candidates’ supporters.
According to another report by The Hankyoreh newspaper on Thursday, Kim only posted the writings between 9:00 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on weekdays, and never on weekends. This fueled suspicions that Kim posted the political writings as part of her duty as an NIS official.
Last December, the main opposition Democratic United Party said it received a tip-off that the NIS was working to vilify its candidate Moon Jae-in.
The DUP claimed that the “NIS-affiliated psychosomatic information bureau” was working to ensure Moon’s loss in the presidential election, and Kim had posted slanderous comments against Moon.
The NIS denied the allegations and accused the DUP of carrying out “negative propaganda,” and Kim claimed she has always remained politically neutral.
Earlier this month, however, a police report confirmed that she clicked on the “approval” or “objection” buttons on Internet posts regarding the presidential candidates.
Kim said that she never directly posted any election-related writings and that her activities online were only part of her job to monitor pro-North Korean activities. She added that she only clicked the “object” button to subpar writings.
However, the latest police reports indicate that Kim’s testimonies, at least in part, had been false.
This led many to question the credibility of the police investigation, as police promptly announced after just three days of initial investigating that they had not found any evidence of wrongdoing.
By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
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