Arrest warrants issued for S.Korean former intelligence chiefs
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-11-16 10:02

The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for two former intelligence chiefs who had alleged involvement in the spy agency's illegal wiretapping operations years ago, reported South Korean English newspaper The Korea Times on Wednesday.

The court charged former Unification Minister Lim Dong-won, 71, who directed the National Intelligence Service (NIS) from 1999 to 2001, and Shin Gunn, 64, who succeeded Lim as director through 2003, for directing intelligence agents to spy on high-profile figures such as politicians, businessmen and journalists during their tenures.

The decision to arrest the two former spy chiefs indicates that the prosecution's three-month investigation of the spy agency's wiretapping scandal is nearing its close, said the newspaper.

The prosecution requested the arrest warrants Monday shortly after former NIS deputy chief Kim Un-sung, who led the spy agency' s domestic operations from 2000 to 2001, testified in court that the former directors had influential roles in directing the illegal wiretapping operations.

Sixty-year-old Kim last month became the first spy agency official, retired or incumbent, to be indicted on criminal charges during the investigation of the wiretapping scandal.

In Kim's indictment, the prosecution confirmed seven wiretapping operations on politicians, businessmen and other high- profile figures conducted by NIS agents.

The prosecution also claimed that the spy agency's wiretapping unit, under Kim's direction, had reported summaries of seven to eight wiretapped conversations per day to the former NIS directors.

During the court review of the warrant requests earlier Tuesday, both Lim and Shin denied that they had directed or approved the illegal eavesdropping operations on civilians during their tenures.