Lawmaker Yoon Kun-young of the Democratic Party of Korea claimed today regarding the alleged civilian surveillance by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, "Ahead of the 2024 general election, a separate organization was established to regularly submit 'surveillance reports' to the presidential office in Yongsan every week."

Lawmaker Yoon, a member of the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee, held a press conference at the National Assembly today and stated, "We have confirmed that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration carried out extensive surveillance of civilians, including politicians, and that the results were even reported to the president."

According to Lawmaker Yoon, the NIS reported to former President Yoon on January 3, 2024, on the "Operation and Tracking Plan for a Special Response Task Force (TF) to Block North Korean Influence Operations."

The NIS formed the "North Korean Influence Operations Response TF," combining four departments including security investigation, and delivered physical reports a total of 16 times to Kim Tae-hyo, former 1st Deputy Director of the National Security Office.

Lawmaker Yoon emphasized, "The reports were drafted under the title 'Trends in North Korean Anti-South Influence Operations,' but the final sections were 'Tracking Activities of Domestic Follower Trends' and 'Response Measures.' This was essentially a political trend report unrelated to North Korea, and in effect, civilian surveillance."

Yang Kyung-su, head of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), and Kim Min-woong, head of the Candlelight Action, were included as "targets for tracking" in the TF operation plan report, Yoon said.

He stated, "Including the so-called 7 'targets for tracking' attached to the TF operation plan report, there are about 28 'targets' included in the weekly reports," defining that "democratic and progressive figures who criticized the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and raised voices against its policies became targets of surveillance."

In addition, Lawmaker Yoon explained that surveillance was conducted on Democratic Party lawmaker Jin Sung-joon and Jaseung, former executive chief of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism who passed away in November 2023, based on intelligence of unclear origin.

Lawmaker Yoon said, "By surveilling civilians under the name of 'forces threatening security' and reporting on their trends, the NIS planted the seed of the word 'anti-state forces' in Yoon Suk-yeol's mind," adding, "It even makes me think that the NIS may have been the initial planner of martial law."

He pointed out, "It breaks my heart that the NIS reforms, built step-by-step with great difficulty through three democratic administrations, collapsed like a sandcastle with the emergence of Yoon Suk-yeol," and stressed, "We must restart NIS reforms, and the first step is to uncover the truth."

Meeting with reporters after the press conference, Lawmaker Yoon said, "The NIS has not yet launched an inspection, but I have informally confirmed that an inspection will take place soon," adding, "It is priority to uncover the truth through a thorough inspection (by the NIS under the Lee Jae-myung administration)."

(Photo: Yonhap News)