[EDITORIALS]Clear up Susie Kim case

One month has passed since prosecutors announced that the Agency for National Security Planning, the predecessor of the National Intelligence Service, meddled in the police investigation of the 1987 murder of Susie Kim, establishing her as a North Korean spy. Still, the truth about the case remains a maze. Prosecutors issued detention warrants prior to arrest for Lee Moo-young, former commissioner-general of the National Police Agency, and for Kim Seung-il, a former head of the National Intelligence Service's Anti-Communist Bureau. But those moves are only a part of an internal investigation of the police that began last year. The manipulation process of the Susie Kim case in 1987 remains a puzzle.

In an effort to set history straight, the truth about the murder of Susie Kim should be brought to light. How could it be possible that a simple murder of a wife by her husband, following a quarrel, could be turned into an attempt to kidnap her husband to North Korea? Prosecutors should lay bare the background of the case in order to teach authorities this lesson: Do not commit any more legal violations. The Investigation should focus on the manipulation and cover-up done in 1987. After thoroughly investigating the case, prosecutors should adhere to the law and deal with matters whose statute of limitations have expired. Prosecutors should not give up investigating the truth classifying it as a case whose statute of limitation has already passed. Such an attitude is not suitable for the investigation of historical truth. Senior officials at the agency, who masterminded the case, should respond to the investigation and clarify the truth behind the murder incident. As former civil servants, they should at least clarify the part they have played in the case.

It was disclosed that senior officials of the National Intelligence Service recently demanded the police stop its internal investigation; that evidently shows that nothing has changed between the agency and the intelligence service.