Another victim of illegal surveillance of private citizens has surfaced. In this case, it is a labor union leader. Bae Jeong-geun, chairman of the Federation of Korean Public Trade Unions (FKPU) that is a part of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), disclosed to the press two days ago that two people tailed him in December 2009, including a police officer dispatched to the Office of the Prime Minister. He also says that he also underwent a series of background checks. The Prime Minister’s Office did not deny the surveillance. It now seems that illegally monitoring civilians was not an exceptional event that happened by chance. The question now is will a third or fourth victim
surface after this?
The explanation from the Prime Minister’s Office was that it had been tipped off that Bae, a former employee at the public National Health Insurance Corporation, was playing golf during work hours, and that the office was attempting verifying the story. In other words, he was subject to a public official discipline checkup by the public ethics office. This is an inordinately awkward excuse. Bae is a leader in FKTU, a private organization, not the employee of a public corporation.
Moreover, conflict between the FKTU and the Lee Myung-bak administration had been high during the process of amending the Labor Relations Act, including a prohibition on wage payments to full-time unionists. Bae was a leading figure among those in the FKTU arguing against reaching an agreement with the Lee administration. Judging
from the circumstances, the unavoidable suspicion is that the surveillance was undertaken to find faults with someone opposing the ruling administration and to make an
example of him. If power was wielded with this goal, this is no different from the intimidation tactics of thugs. A clear investigation must reveal who called for this abuse of
authority.
A full-scale investigation should also be carried out to determine whether there were any similar instances of illegal surveillance. The initial victim, Kim Jong-ik, was one of many people posting BBK videos to their blogs. If a non-official organization viewed him as a target for surveillance, there could be more people subjected to surveillance for the same reason. And if Bae Jeong-geun was subjected to surveillance for being a stumbling block to Lee administration policy, others who opposed administration policy in other ways could also have been illegally monitored. This is why a full-scale investigation of both the public ethics office and the figures receiving reports from this organization are clearly necessary.
Yet the Lee administration’s response has been nothing but a disappointment. To begin, the Office of the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs in the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) has continually changed its story as to whether it received a report from the public ethics office of the Office of the Prime Minister. It comes across as an evasive attempt to hide the actual truth and influence and minimize controversy through empty words. Meanwhile, President Lee Myung-bak spoke
as though this incident was the “sloppy abuse of authority by certain public officials.” This comes across as the presentation of guidelines for the prosecutorial
investigation that just began. The Lee administration may attempt to paper over things in this manner, but the people of South Korea will not accept the results of the
investigation if the Lee administration attempts to hide the truth.
또 확인된 불법 민간인 사찰, 더는 없겠는가
불법 민간인 사찰의 피해자가 또 드러났다. 이번엔 노동조합 간부다. 한국노총 공공노조연맹의 배정근 위원장은 지난해 12월 총리실에 파견된 경찰관 등 두 명이 자신을 미행했다고 그제 언론에 밝혔다. 배씨 말로는 각종 뒷조사도 있었다고 한다. 총리실도 사찰 사실을 부인하지 않았다. 짐작대로 불법 민간인 사찰은 우연히 벌어진 예외적인 일이 아니었다. 이들 말고 제3, 제4의 사찰 피해자는 또 없겠는가.
총리실은 배씨가 공기업인 건강보험공단 직원 출신으로 근무시간 중에 골프를 친다는 제보가 있어 확인에 나선 것이라고 해명했다. 공직윤리지원관실의 공직기강 점검 대상이라는 것이다. 어색하기 짝이 없는 변명이다. 배씨는 공기업 직원이라기보다 민간조직인 노총의 간부다. 더구나 당시는 노조 전임자 임금지급 금지 등을 담은 노동관계법 개정을 놓고 노총과 정부의 갈등이 최고조에 달한 때였고, 배씨는 노총 안에서 정부와 합의하지 말 것을 주장하는 대표적 인물이었다. 정황으로 보면 정부에 반대하는 이의 흠을 찾아내 ‘본때를 보이겠다’고 사찰에 나선 게 아니냐고 의심할 수밖에 없다. 그런 생각으로 권력을 휘둘렀다면 폭력배의 협박 행태와 다를 바 없다. 누가 이런 직권남용을 주문했는지 밝혀내야 한다.
이와 비슷한 불법 사찰이 또 없었는지도 본격적으로 찾아야 한다. 애초 피해자였던 김종익씨는 비비케이 동영상을 블로그에 올린 수많은 사람 가운데 하나였다. 비선조직이 그를 사찰 대상으로 삼았다면 같은 이유로 다른 사찰 대상자들이 더 있을 수 있다. 정부 정책에 걸림돌이 된다는 이유로 배정근씨가 사찰을 받았다면, 다른 일로 정부 정책에 반대한 이들 역시 불법 사찰을 받았을 수 있다. 공직윤리지원관실은 물론, 이 조직의 보고를 받은 배후인물들에 대한 전면조사가 불가피한 이유다.
그럼에도 정부 태도는 실망스럽기만 하다. 청와대 민정수석실은 공직윤리지원관실로부터 보고를 받았는지에 대해서부터 어물거리며 말을 바꾼다. 실제 배후와 진상을 감추고 파문을 줄이려 괜한 말로 얼버무리는 것으로 비친다. 이명박 대통령은 이번 사건이 ‘몇몇 공무원들의 어설픈 권력남용’이라는 투로 말했다. 이제 막 시작한 검찰 수사의 가이드라인을 제시하는 것으로 비친다. 이런 식으로 미봉하려 한다고 국민이 넘어갈 단계는 이미 한참 전에 지났다
[한겨레 사설 7/6]
