Abrupt departure of spy chief, other top spooks follows NIS infighting

Politics

Published: 27 Nov. 2023, 17:30

Abrupt departure of spy chief, other top spooks follows NIS infighting

National Intelligence Service Director Kim Kyou-hyun, center, takes part in a plenary meeting of the parliamentary intelligence committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, last Thursday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The abrupt replacements of Kim Kyou-hyun, former director of Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), and two other top spy agency officials on Sunday came as a puzzling move, especially at a critical time when inter-Korean tensions are high.

President Yoon Suk Yeol accepted the resignations of NIS chief Kim, alongside Kwon Chun-taek, the agency's first deputy director, and Kim Soo-youn, its second deputy director, just nine hours after returning from a weeklong overseas trip to Britain and France earlier Sunday.

In a statement, the presidential office said the top three spy officials had tendered their resignations, and Yoon had accepted them, without further explanation.

The president's effective sacking of the NIS officials without the immediate naming of a succeeding director came at a sensitive period when the government has been focused on responding to North Korea's latest spy satellite launch, which led to its decision to partially suspend the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement.

It also came as the Yoon administration has been pouring all efforts into final promotions for Busan's World Expo 2030 bid, set to be voted on in Paris on Tuesday.

Thus, Yoon's decision to accept the resignations of the top three NIS officials at this time appears to be a culmination of continued displeasure over ongoing issues around personnel management at the spy agency and a move to hold leadership responsible for the repeated controversies.

Reports of Internal strife due to personnel matters at the NIS and friction between the so-called new and old factions have circulated for months, fueling speculation that the spy chief may be replaced within the year.

Current and former intelligence sources have indicated that the crux of the personnel controversy was a conflict between a group close to former NIS chief Kim, who took power after the current government took over, and a faction within the agency opposing him.

An indicator of the internal turmoil was the sudden resignation of Cho Sang-jun, a deputy director at the NIS and a former senior prosecutor known as a close ally of Yoon, in October 2022, just four months after his appointment.

Cho, who Yoon tapped as a NIS deputy director for planning and coordination in June, resigned from the post for health and "personal reasons," according to the NIS, dismissing reports that there had been a rift within the spy agency.

Cho first reported his decision to resign to the presidential office and not to NIS Director Kim, leading to further speculation that Cho had clashed with Kim over personnel affairs issues.

Last fall and winter, dozens of senior officials reportedly resigned or were excluded or transferred from their duties, raising speculation of political retaliation and attempts to sideline officials linked with the former administration within the NIS. Kim, an outsider to the organization, reportedly faced resistance from existing NIS officials over trying to replace a large number of officials within the agency.

This summer, there were continued reports of worrisome human resources practices in the NIS, with Yoon allegedly peeved over Kim's handling of personnel affairs.

In June, seven high-level NIS officials initially approved by Yoon for appointment were overturned. The overturning of the appointees reportedly came about because a close associate of former NIS chief Kim, in charge of personnel affairs at the NIS, had allegedly exercised undue influence in coming up with the list.

Sources said that Kim had been at odds with First Deputy Director Kwon from the beginning, mainly stemming from bad blood over the NIS chief allgedly overriding an appointment that Kwon had favored with his close confidant.

Other intelligence sources have pointed out that Kim had appeared more focused on preserving his position than his duties as spy chief.

The Yongsan presidential office, in turn, has been expressing ire over the continued leaks about personnel matters originating from the NIS, which is all the more serious because they come from the state's top intelligence agency.

The office is said to be keeping a close eye on the individuals leaking stories related to personnel conflicts within the NIS.

The new NIS director to replace Kim following Yoon's appointment will be subject to a parliamentary confirmation hearing, raising worries for a continued vacuum in the top spy agency post.

A presidential official said Monday that now that security relations with the United States and Japan have been restored, the office is seeking an NIS director "who can develop the agency's intelligence capabilities."

Kim, a career diplomat and a senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and national security in the Park Geun-hye administration from October 2015 to May 2017 and a first vice foreign minister from 2013 to 2014, was tapped as Yoon's first NIS chief in May 2022.

A U.S. affairs expert, Kim was credited with playing a role as NIS director in restoring security cooperation with the United States and Japan, which the Yoon government claimed had deteriorated under the previous Moon Jae-in administration.

Yoon, in turn, named Hong Jang-won, a former minister at South Korea's Embassy in the United Kingdom, as the NIS's first deputy director, in effect serving as the acting NIS director for the time being, according to the presidential office.

Hwang Won-jin, an official in charge of intelligence on North Korea at the NIS, was named the second deputy director.

The presidential office called Hong and Hwang top experts "well-versed in international and North Korean intelligence."

The first deputy director is in charge of overseas operations and international intelligence at the NIS and the second deputy director is in charge of North Korea affairs.

Former Army generals have been floated as possible succeeding NIS directors, including Kim Yong-hyun, current head of the Presidential Security Service, and former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, who stepped down in October.

Others being named include Kim Kwan-jin, a former defense minister and former chief of the Blue House National Security Office, Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo, People Power Party Rep. Kwon Young-se, a former unification minister, and Chun Yung-woo, a former national security adviser in the Lee Myung-bak administration and head of the Korean Peninsula Future Forum.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]