Information and Communication Minister Chin Dae Je told a National Assembly committee Thursday that "only as many as 1,000 people could have their mobile phones bugged illegally by the National Intelligence Service" and was harshly criticized by committee members. The context of what he was saying makes it hard to believe it was a simple slip of the tongue. He fought back asking, "How is 37 million CDMA users the same as a thousand?" and that shows you how pathetic his thinking is. His comments were not something he can just put behind him by later saying they were inappropriate.
Communication depends on the protection of privacy, and that is obviously not something that can be measured by a ratio of 37 million to a thousand. If that's how it's going to be, there's no reason to prohibit the importation of beef from a country that has a case of mad cow disease. It is extremely unlikely you are going to get mad cow disease by consuming beef from such a country, and yet the importation of beef in from a country where the disease has been discovered is prohibited because it is still possible that one or two people could be affected. It is a serious infringement on the freedom of communication when it is even possible that someone could be listening. If Chin thinks that the people have nothing to fear just because a few people were subjected to illegal electronic surveillance, then he is not qualified to be the head of the Ministry of Information and Communication, since one of his most important duties is to protect information.
As for the part where he had long been lying when he asserted it was impossible to bug mobile phone conversations, Chin is avoiding responsibility by saying he "never lied" or that then and now he was only explaining the technical issues of it all. He has refused to apologize to the National Assembly. Maybe he thinks he is right, but it looks like he is an arrogant member of cabinet who doesn't fear the people.
The Hankyoreh, 19 August 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] 'Only a Thousand' Mobile Phone Taps |
