NIS director candidate Lee Jong-seok emphasizes the need for revision of espionage law... disagrees with assessment of being ”pro-North Korea” = South Korea

Lee Jung-seok, the nominee for director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), said on the 17th that the scope of application of espionage crimes should be expanded from "enemy countries" to "foreign countries."
In a written response to a personnel hearing submitted to the National Assembly on the same day, Lee responded to a question from People Power Party lawmaker Lee Seong-kwon about the revision of the espionage law by saying, "The current law does not allow the investigation of espionage by anyone other than enemy countries.
"There is currently no legal basis for punishing espionage on behalf of a foreign country, so the development of relevant laws is an urgent task," he said.
"In particular, acts that threaten national security, such as leaking state secrets to foreign countries,
"Even if they are found guilty, the current situation is that the punishment is merely lenient, which will pose a major threat to national security," he said. "I understand that proposals to enact and amend related laws have been proposed and discussions are underway.
Regarding the recent situation of inter-Korean relations, Lee said, "North Korea has declared the theory of a 'two hostile states' and has been raising the issue of confrontation between the two Koreas.
"We are extremely concerned that the North-South relationship has become a fait accompli and is revealing its intention to permanently divide the country," he said.
"It will be important to make efforts to ease mutual distrust and resolve tensions through dialogue," Lee said. "The reason North Korea quickly stopped its loudspeaker broadcasts in response to South Korea's suspension of loudspeaker broadcasts is because of its recent aggressive stance against South Korea.
"This is quite unusual given the hardline stance," he said, adding, "We should closely monitor subsequent developments and redouble our efforts to resume dialogue and communication."
"Considering the history of inter-Korean relations and the characteristics of the North Korean regime, the NIS's role in inter-Korean negotiations is
"I think a certain degree of detente is necessary," he said. As for future measures to ease tensions between North and South Korea, he said, "A reinstatement of the September 19 military agreement is the most desirable," but added, "If a reinstatement is difficult, we will consider a similar measure."
Regarding the internal trends in North Korea, he said, "On the surface, Kim Ju-ae appears to be receiving training as the successor.
"However, we believe that the stage of officially selecting a successor has not yet been reached," he said.
"It is difficult to say that the repairs are complete, as there are some parts of the ship that are not fully restored, and there appears to be some internal damage," he said.
Regarding North Korea's assessment of Kim Il Sung, he said, "I think he is a great man, and I ...
"We cannot escape the responsibility of being the perpetrator of the 1955 invasion of the South," he said, but added, "It is true that Kim Il-sung engaged in anti-Japanese guerrilla movements in the past, so we cannot criticize North Korea's undemocratic sole rulership system and ideology.
Regarding the criticism that he is pro-North Korea, he said, "I have studied North Korea and the Korean peninsula in depth, so I think that
In response to a question about Korea-China relations from Park Ji-won, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, Lee said, "The previous administration
"The administration has been deficient in managing the stable relationship between Korea and China, viewing China only from the perspective of ideology and values, leading to unnecessary conflicts," the report said.
Regarding the past incident involving the Cheonan attack, Lee said, "I trust the government's investigation results," but added, "I think that a more thorough and sophisticated investigation will be necessary to resolve the issue."
"It's a pity that we couldn't secure sympathy from both inside and outside the country," he said. Regarding the US military in South Korea, he said, "They are a key element for peace on the Korean Peninsula," and replied, "I am against their complete withdrawal."
Regarding the transfer of operational control, he emphasized that "it is essential for ensuring our military sovereignty and independent defense capabilities."