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National Intelligence Service Director Kim Seung-kyu, we are told, tendered his resignation on Friday and the president accepted it. Kim steps down to ensure ¡°that he will not be a burden¡± in the imminent reshuffle of the foreign policy and security lineup, the NIS explained.
Rumor did have it that the NIS director might be included in the reshuffle in the wake of the resignations of the defense and unification ministers after the North Korean nuclear test. But the timing is nonetheless odd. On Tuesday, the NIS arrested several prominent members of the so-called 386 generation of former student activists, and on Thursday it announced they are suspected of spying for North Korea. Yet in the middle of the biggest espionage scandal in decades, which it reportedly took the agency years to track, the man in charge calls it quits.
No wonder some speculate that displeasure at the investigation from 386ers in power may have hastened Kim¡¯s departure. The spy suspects took part in the democracy struggles of the 1980s and have close personal ties with 386ers in Cheong Wa Dae. In fact, NIS insiders say they are under strong pressure from 386ers in the political arena. The entire 386 generation appears to be attacking the NIS, one said. The Democratic Labor Party, whose former and incumbent leaders are implicated in the spy scandal, is protesting in front of the agency every day. In an absurd twist, the party's vice secretary-general protested in front of the NIS on Wednesday and was arrested for spying the next morning.
Since this government came into office, investigations of pro-North Korean activities have been difficult. The president said, "The National Security Law must be sheathed and sent to a museum." The national security sectors of the country¡¯s 15 public prosecutors' offices have been closed since 2004. A prosecutor general who attempted to arrest a professor for describing the Korean War as North Korea¡¯s war of unification was forced out. The fact that the NIS launched an investigation into the 386 generation spy scandal at all is a miracle under this administration. There is speculation, therefore, that Kim is leaving because he put the cat among the pigeons by encouraging the investigation.
If the president wants to dispel suspicion that the NIS director was pressured out of office by 386ers in power, he must appoint a replacement capable of completing the probe without being influenced by political winds.
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