[Editorial] Standing tough onspying by an ally

Our government must stand tough on any illicit practices by foreign countries.

With 15 days left before President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the United States, suspicion arose over U.S. intelligence agencies wiretapping on other governments. According to the New York Times, they have been collecting a wide range of information, including on the situation of the Ukraine war and other countries’ weapons support for the country in Europe. The presidential office in Yongsan was no exception. The evidence includes a sensitive conversation between the former national security advisor and his diplomatic aide over providing shells for Ukraine.

If proven true, the suspicion constitutes a brazen infringement on sovereignty. The decades-old alliance based on mutual trust can shake. The world is in a war of information. After the Russian embassy in Pyongyang spied on the North Korean leadership in the 1980s, North Korea built a high apartment on the empty ground between the embassy and the headquarters of the Worker’s Party.

The Koreagate in 1976 — the South Korean influence-buying scandal — also was related to the information the U.S. obtained after eavesdropping on conversations in the Blue House. After that, former president Park Chung Hee ordered to change all windows in the presidential compound into triple pane ones. President Park consulted with officials dealing with sensitive issues like developing nuclear weapons in meetings held in areas other than Seoul.

After Edward Snowden, a former employee at the National Security Agency, revealed in 2013 that the U.S. had been spying on leaders of major countries, former President Barack Obama promised to prevent any recurrence of wiretapping other governments. The Yoon administration also installed devices on windows of the Government Complex in Gwanghwamun and the presidential office in the former Ministry of National Defense building to block eavesdropping.

After the news broke, our government must thoroughly prepare for any recurrences. It must not forget the security warning from President Yoon’s People Power Party. It must double-check if any suspicious equipment is installed in key government facilities.

At the same time, the government must be careful not to adversely affect the summit on April 26 between Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden. If a schism occurs in the alliance amid the volatile international circumstances, as seen in North Korea’s bold nuclear threats and China’s firing drills targeting Taiwan, that’s a critical loss for South Korea and the U.S. In that sense, Washington must find out what was going on and pledge to stop such an aberrant act. Our government must stand tough on any illicit practices by foreign countries.