Prosecution raids spy agency office over scandal

Prosecution raids spy agency office over scandal

Prosecutors on Tuesday raided the headquarters of the 

nation's main intelligence agency in connection with 

suspicions that the organization attempted to influence 

public opinion ahead of last year's presidential election. 


A team of some 25 prosecutors and investigators seized 

digital files, internal documents from an anti-North Korea 

psychological warfare team at the National Intelligence 

Service (NIS), they said.


Allegations have been raised that the NIS extensively and 

systemically intervened in the presidential election by using 

its agents at the team to post a slew of politically sensitive 

comments on the Internet against the opposition candidate to

 sway public opinion ahead of the December race. (Yonhap 

News)

S. Korea spy agency raided over poll scandal

Agence France-Presse April 29, 2013 23:30

S. Korea spy agency raided over poll scandal

South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday raided the country's spy agency as part of a probe into allegations that it meddled in the presidential election in December, a news report said.

A team of about 25 prosecutors and investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office seized digital files and doc-uments from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in the capital, Yonhap news agency said.

The agency's anti-North Korea psychological warfare team allegedly posted a slew of politically sensitive comments on the Internet against the opposition candidate to influence public opinion ahead of the December poll.

The raid follows the questioning of former NIS director Won Sei-Hoon on Monday in connection with the case.

For 14 hours, Won was grilled over whether he ordered NIS agents to post politically sensitive remarks on the Internet against the opposition candidate, Yonhap said, citing prosecutors.

Nobody at the Prosecutors' Office was immediately available to comment.

Won reportedly denied the charges against him, claiming that the agency's anti-North Korea team was doing its job in countering Pyongyang's attempts to influence the election results.

Won is suspected of attempting to influence voter sentiment ahead of the presidential election in favour of the conservative ruling party candidate Park Geun-Hye, who narrowly defeated liberal rival Moon Jae-In to become South Korea's first female president.

He has been barred from leaving the country pending the result of the investigation.

Police wrapped up their four-month probe in March, accusing two NIS agents of taking part in the illegal political activities and handing the case to the prosecution for further investigation and possible indictment.

ckp/dr/ami
 

Copyright AFP, 2013.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130429/s-korea-spy-agency-raided-over-poll-scandal