Probe into alleged links of senior political leaders and North Korea keeps South Korea tense

The NIS has been dubbed by the liberals in South Korea as a corrupt wing. A probe had been initiated against the NIS for diverting clandestine funds

Seoul, Feb 14: Tensions are mounting between the government and opposition forces in South Korea, as the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol is attempting to probe alleged links between senior liberal political figures and North Korean Intelligence, reports said.

The effort according to reports could be the largest counter-espionage operation in the country's history since 1992. The same is being led by the National Intelligence Service (NIA).

The operation came to light when hundreds of police had on January 18, led by officers of the NIS conducted a search operation at a number of regional offices of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). The KCTU which was founded in the mid-90s is South Korea's largest labour coalition representing over 1.1 million members. It is politically aligned with the Democratic Party of Korea, a left-of-centre liberal coalition which was in power until last year.

The NIS is investigating charges that the members the KCTU formed a clandestine organisation that engaged in protests against the United States and organised various subversive campaigns under instruction from North Korea. It was found that the organisation was led by a senior KCTU official, who in turn was handled by clandestine operatives of North Korea's ruling political party, the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). The NIS claims that the official met WPK operatives several times during trips to countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam between 2016 and 2022.

On January 18, a large police tried to enter the KCTU headquarters in Seoul in an attempt to arrest the trade union official who has not been named. Video footage appeared on the social media, which showed a standoff between law enforcement agencies and KCTU officials. Eventually the police entered the building, while also attempting to prevent some individuals barricaded inside from leaving.

The opposition has called the actions highly condemnable and called them politically motivated. The NIS remains highly-controversial among the left-of-centre South Koreans who call it a highly corrupt state-entity that is politically aligned with the PPP.

During 2018 and 2022, the DPK government spearheaded what it called an anti-corruption campaign inside the NIS.

Three former NIS directors were charged and convicted for secretly diverting funds from the agency's clandestine budget in order to aid the then South Korean president, Park Geun-hye.