A candidate for the head of South Korea's state intelligence office has refused to describe a pending case on alleged North Korean spies as a definite spy case, legislators on the parliamentary intelligence commmittee said Monday.
Kim Man-bok's refusal, according to the National Intelligence Service (NIS), was necessary and appropriate, as the case has yet to be decided by the court, but one that could prompt opposition accusations that the NIS chief-designate was working to interrupt the alleged spy case.
Asked whether he believes the people involved in the alleged spy case are in fact North Korean agents, the NIS chief-designate said it "would be inappropriate" to answer the question "as the prosecution investigation is still underway."
The question by a committee member and Kim's answer were made via written documents ahead of a one-day parliamentary hearing on Kim's appointment Monday.
Kim is to replace Kim Seung-kyu, who has been heading the intelligence agency since last year, but he was not required to get the parliament's approval.
NIS officials said their designated chief's remarks must be understood from legal terms that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Still, they were viewed to be in contrast with the incumbent NIS chief's publicized conviction that the case involves at least two or more North Korean agents.
"(The NIS) sees it as a clear case of a spy group (implying it involves a multiple number of spies). Based on evidence collected from a month-long investigation, the Service believes the five already arrested are definitely" North Korean spies, Kim Seung-kyu said late last month in an interview with a local newspaper.
The refusal by Kim Man-bok, a career intelligence official currently serving as a deputy head of the NIS, also follows Kim Seung-kyu's earlier opposition to an NIS official succeeding his post.
Kim Seung-kyu had refused to state any names, but said it would not be ideal for an NIS official to replace him.
He later said no one can be sure that North Korean spies have not penetrated the ingelligence agency.
In a separate document submitted to the National Assembly committee, the NIS chief-designate said a total of 60 North Korean agents working in the South have been arrested, 42 by the NIS, since 1998, according to committee members, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Regarding Seoul's move to deploy a contingent of peace-keeping forces in Lebanon, Kim said his agency favors the proposed dispatch, considering its economic effects and the country's reputation within the international community.
He also said the intelligence service opposed withdrawing the country's forces from Iraq in an opinion report submitted to the government, referring to the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae.
South Korea maintains the third largest contingent of forces in Iraq following those of the United States and Britain.
Seoul, Nov. 20 (Yonhap News)
Spy chief-designate refuses to categorize probe on alleged N. Korean agents |
