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A line of current and former National Intelligence Service agents and police officers took witness
stand at the National Assembly today. as part of an ongoing parliamentary probe into allegations
that the spy agency meddled in last year's presidential election.
Kim Yeon-ji reports. At Monday's hearing involving NIS agents, a giant screen wall was set up
so that their faces could not be seen. Behind the wall were two active, and two inactive
agents. A female NIS agent, who stands accused of
posting negative online comments about opposition presidential candidates before the December
election, was among them. The agent said. she was only fulfilling her
duties as an agent.
"I never received orders to meddle in the presidential election. I only did my duties
to respond to North Korea's propaganda online."
But the agent refused to answer many of the questions posed, saying she didn't want to
incriminate herself in the event she is put on trial at a later date.
Kwon Eun-hee, a police officer who led the investigation into the spy agency's scandal
at Seoul's Suseo Police Station, said she received a phone call from former Seoul Metropolitan
Police chief Kim Yong-pan on December 16th. Kwon said. that Kim told her not to file a
request for a warrant to search the apartment from where the NIS agent was found to have
posted sensitive political comments.
"What Kim Yong-pan did was unfair, because it tampered with our investigation at Suseo
station."
Kwon said she had asked the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to analyze all files saved in
the female NIS agent's computer, including 100 keywords.
But she said the police agency cut that number down to just four. and then released the results
of the investigation at 11 p.m. on December 16th,. just three days before the election.
"Other high-ranking NIS agents at the hearing said there may posted comments online that
others may have judged as being 'inappropriate' or 'problematic'. But they claimed they only
posted them to effectively counter North Korean propaganda in cyberspace."
Kim Yeon-ji, Arirang News.