#won sei-hoon

[koreastandardtime]

S. Korea's former spy chief gets a slap on the wrist

Won Sei-hoon, the ex-head of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, was given an absurdly light three-year prison sentence Monday for interfering in the 2012 presidential election. Won had ordered NIS agents to launch an online smear campaign against opposition candidate Moon Jae-in. When state prosecutors indicted Won for overseeing this illicit operation, the whole sordid affair blew up into a huge political scandal that embarrassed President Park Geun-hye.

A Seoul appeals court handed down Won’s jail sentence as it overturned an even more ridiculous ruling by a lower court that had cleared him of election tampering. I still don’t think that the NIS’ attempt to lend a boost to Park’s presidential bid made any difference in the 2012 election. But Won’s actions were so subversive and anti-democratic that he deserved a more severe penalty than just a few years behind bars.

[ph4z0n]

National Intelligence Service documents have surfaced showing director Won Sei-hoon, 62, ordering his employees to interfere directly in national politics.

With the documents containing wording similar to that found in materials drafted by a 29-year-old NIS employee – identified by the surname Kim – who is currently being investigated by police for online manipulations of public opinion during last December‘s presidential election, questions are being raised about Won possibly being the one who ordered Kim’s activities.

The police could now broaden their investigation to include Won and the rest of the NIS. The National Intelligence Service Act strictly bars the organization from any involvement in domestic politics.