11 Municipal Heads File Criminal Complaint Against Former President Lee Myung-bak and Former NIS Chief Won Se-hun for 'Illegal Surveillance'

Eleven municipal heads, including Suwon Mayor Yom Tae-young, filed a criminal complaint on the 30th at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, urging an investigation into illegal surveillance conducted by the National Intelligence Service during the Lee Myung-bak administration.

The 11 municipal heads filed a complaint against former President Lee Myung-bak and former NIS Chief Won Se-hun on charges of political involvement and abuse of authority under the National Intelligence Service Act, and obstruction of official duties through deception under the Criminal Act. Through this complaint, they demanded a prosecution investigation into the illegal surveillance of opposition-affiliated local heads by the NIS under the MB administration, as revealed by the Democratic Party's Special Committee on Rectifying Past Wrongs and the NIS Reform and Development Committee.

According to the complaint, former NIS Chief Won Se-hun requested at a meeting that relevant departments collect information on the non-cooperation and obstruction of state affairs by opposition-affiliated municipal heads. Subsequently, the relevant departments prepared surveillance documents based on materials reported from each region and distributed them to the President's Secretary and the Blue House, confirming these facts.

The complaint states this constitutes a serious criminal act that violated civil servants' duty of political neutrality and further damaged the foundation of democracy by using state power delegated by the people as a tool to achieve specific political objectives.

Among the 31 individuals mentioned in the 'Status and Considerations of Opposition-Affiliated Municipal Heads Undermining State Governance' document disclosed by the Special Committee on Rectifying Past Wrongs, 15 are current municipal heads, with 11 of them participating in this joint complaint.

Seven municipal heads who directly appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to file the complaint stated: "The MB administration suppressed opposition-affiliated local governments through arbitrary judgment criteria of 'municipal heads' ideological inclinations,' using methods such as budget cuts, disadvantages at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety level, and arbitrary audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection. We have decided to pursue this complaint believing that only thorough investigation of those responsible and rigorous judicial punishment can restore the damaged democracy."

Meanwhile, National Assembly member Lee Jae-jung, serving as a member of the Special Committee on Rectifying Past Wrongs, stated in an interview with media on the 27th of last month that among documents created during the MB administration and held by the National Archives of Korea, only about 1/100 of the surveillance contents concerning opposition politicians, including municipal heads, have been revealed to the public. This suggests that if additional related documents are disclosed in the future, the impact on the political sphere is expected to intensify.

※ List of Municipal Heads Participating in the Joint Complaint Regarding the MB Administration's Illegal Surveillance

Kim Seong-je, Mayor of Uiwang City

Kim Seong-hwan, Head of Nowon-gu Office

Kim Young-bae, Head of Seongbuk-gu Office

Kim Woo-young, Head of Eunpyeong-gu Office

Min Hyung-bae, Head of Gwangsan-gu Office, Gwangju

Yom Tae-young, Mayor of Suwon

Yu Deok-yeol, Head of Dongdaemun-gu Office

Choi Sung, Mayor of Goyang

Choi Young-ho, Head of Nam-gu Office, Gwangju

Hong Mi-young, Head of Bupyeong-gu Office, Incheon

Hwang Myeong-seon, Mayor of Nonsan (Total 11 people, listed in alphabetical order)