Legislator Alleges Agencies Trace Accounts Illegally

Opposition lawmakers charged Thursday that instances of law enforcement agencies tracing transactions of personal bank accounts without warrants have risen sharply.

At a hearing of the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee, Rep. Lee Ju-young of the opposition Grand National Party criticized the alleged misuse of authority by the National Tax Service, the National Election Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service and other government agencies.

He said, according to documents provided by the Financial Supervisory Commission, that 92 percent of all bank transactions traced in 2000 were traced without warrants.

Mr. Lee also raised the allegation that prosecutors who are required to obtain warrants before tracing bank transactions bring in personnel from other government agencies and illegally scrutinize financial records without warrants.

by Kim Jung-wook