Election Meddling

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In a follow-up to yesterday's exclusive KBS report that former President Lee Myung-bak's presidential office directly operated a team to sway public opinions online our next report exposes secret documents proving the Defense Security Command's involvement in systematic election intervention nine years ago.

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This is the Defense Security Command's internal document written on September 7, 2009. Then-commander of the Defense Security Command Kim Jong-tae said in a meeting with his aides that the focus was on ensuring the conservative camp's victory in an October by-election to prevent the overthrow of the government and to block leftists from taking power. He also told aides to carefully operate within the boundary of the election law, saying that the leftists' government overthrow strategy could not be tolerated. This is a document about an event on May 18, 2009 to executives of an organization of former marines. The commander said in the event that military reform was a system to use non-commissioned officers for revolution, calling former President Roh Moo-hyun (quote) "vicious." A tactic was mentioned to use municipal, county and district security councils in order to hide the Defense Security Command's election intervention. The former commander denied his involvement in election intervention.

[Soundbite] Kim Jong-tae(Fmr. Defense Security Commander) : "(Why did you establish security councils?) I don't know. I didn't. I don't know."

The secret documents are testifying to the Defense Security Command's illegally explicit operations to intervene in elections both online and offline during the Lee Myung-bak government.