This house cleaning of the National Intelligence Service is long over due:
President-elect Lee Myung-bak’s transition team is pushing ahead with overhauling the roles and missions of the nation’s spy agency to help its strengthen activities in collecting intelligence on North Korea, officials said Monday. The incoming government will also streamline the agency drastically, replacing some 30 senior members, they said.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has often been criticized by conservatives for putting more emphasis on supporting the “sunshine policy" of engaging North Korea than traditional anti-communism activities.
The top post of the agency is now vacant, as former NIS director Kim Man-bok resigned last month over his leaking of secret NIS documents of his private talks with his North Korean counterpart during his visit to Pyongyang Dec. 18, one day before South Korea’s presidential election. (…)
“Top agency officials criticized for their misconduct and irregularities are now said to be lobbying influential officials of the new government and the main opposition Grand National Party to save their jobs,” a team official said. “They are the ones that should be replaced first.” [Korea Times]
ROK Drop readers may remember that the NIS was used by President Roh to cover up the extent of the Ilshimhoe Spy Scandal because it is believed that the reach of the North Korean spies extended all the way into the Blue House.
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9:44 pm on February 19th, 2008 1
As I commented on 7 Feb about hoping the NIS would be revamped…well, it’s coming true.
However, read between the lines. There is some vindictiveness and paybacks coming here too. The progressive (left-leaning) NIS leadership persecuted some of the old conservative families under various pretenses. News reports now have folks scrambling trying to save their jobs — but they have already identified who they are going to lop and just as soon as Lee Myeong-bak names a new head to the NIS, heads are going to start rolling.
7:05 am on February 28th, 2008 2
It’s good to see that progress is being made at least. The NIS is being revamped and things are gradually starting to change, but like you said, things will really get interesting when the new head of the NIS is named.
3:51 pm on August 29th, 2008 3
[...] on a good note, it appears that the cleaning out of the National Intelligence Service by Lee Myung-bak is starting to show some [...]