President Lee claims to have been unaware of illegal monitoring

[한겨레] Blue House officials say president had knowledge of only legal activities

By Ahn Chang-hyun, Blue House correspondent　

The Blue House acknowledged the possibility that President Lee Myung-bak may have received reports on illegal surveillance of civilians by the public ethics division of the Prime Minister's Office.

While the Blue House claims that any surveillance through the office of the senior secretary for civil affairs was legal, it is possible that Lee may have known in advance about the unlawful activities by the public ethics office.

Senior secretary for public relations Choi Keum-rak told reporters on Saturday that the public ethics division documents included both issues resolved independently by that office, as well as others that were reported on to the Blue House.

"The office of the senior secretary for civil affairs may report to President Lee as needed," Choi explained.

This is the first time the Blue House has acknowledged the possibility of Lee having received reports on the details of surveillance by the office. But it also claimed that any reports to Lee were legal.

Choi explained, "These cases all went through normal operational procedures, and [public ethics division official] Lee In-kyu was punished because two cases involving civilian Kim Jong-il and New Frontier Party Rep. Nam Kyung-pil were not reported to the civil affairs senior secretary's office."

With the Blue House admitting the possibility of the senior secretary's office reporting directly to the President, public attention will now turn to Justice Minister Kwon Jae-jin. Kwon was appointed senior secretary for civil affairs in August 2009. In August and September, the public ethics office was monitoring labor unions and executives at networks like YTN. For this reason, opposition party members are demanding a clear explanation of what Kwon reported on to the President and what directions the President gave.

Kwon is believed to be keeping quiet because of the possibility of his words impacting the prosecutors' investigation.

Even if Kwon did abide by the law in the public ethics office's surveillance reports, this still leaves the question of whether Lee received direct reports through then-employment and labor secretary Lee Young-ho or other members of the "unofficial line." Speaking at a press conference prior to his appearance before prosecutors on March 20, Lee claimed primary responsibility for the monitoring, referring to himself as the body, not the tail. Lee also boasted of having had regular private meetings with the President.

When he stepped down as Prime Minister in August 2010, Chung Un-chan said the surveillance by the public ethics division was the "most regrettable" development for him in his post and recalled, "I told the President we needed to eliminate the public ethics division, but he told me to 'try to fix things,' and I had to follow his direction."

If President Lee only received reports of legal activity through the civil affairs senior secretary's office, this leaves the question of why he would have asked that the Prime Minister's Office organization be left unchanged when the head figure at the public ethics division, former public ethics officer Lee In-kyu, was under in state custody.

Analysts in and around the Blue House suggested that the claims of only lawful reports through the civil affairs senior secretary's office are being used as a defensive tactic, as it appears more plausible than arguing that President Lee was completely unaware of the situation.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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