Prosecution investigators raided the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Monday as part of an inquiry into its alleged cover-up last year of a probe into intelligence agents’ illegal interference in the presidential election.
More than 25 officials from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office searched the police agency’s cyber crime unit and seized documents, computer hard disks and other related materials.
The cyber unit is accused of hampering the investigation led by the Suseo Police Station from last December to April against agents from the National Intelligence Service.
In April, Kwon Eun-hee, a former chief investigator at the Suseo Police Station, revealed that senior officers at the SMPA forced her to reduce the number of target online keywords allegedly used by the agents for swaying public opinion in their secret political operations from around 100 to four.
The Seoul police agency is also suspected of taking away an NIS agent’s computer hard disks secured by the district police station to return it to the agent.
Kwon was transferred to a different district police station in February while the police’s investigation was underway at the time.
Late last month around 25 prosecutors and investigators conducted a search and seizure at the NIS to secure hard disks, documents and other related evidence, including mobile phones and laptops used by the NIS agents suspected of participating in the illegal online operations.
Former NIS chief Won Sei-hoon and other senior officials of the NIS were questioned by the prosecutors last month.
Kim Yong-pan, the former chief of the SMPA, is expected to come before the prosecution as early as next week.
The raid was the fourth of its kind targeting the nation’s largest local police agency. It follows the search and seizure after the DDoS attacks against the National Election Commission last May and a physical assault case involving Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn, who ordered thugs to assault a gang who beat his second son.
By Kim Young-won (
wone0102@heraldcorp.com)
