Dead South Korea Agent Denies Spying On Citizens In Note
SEOUL, July 20 (UPI) — A South Korean hacking specialist who played a role in Seoul’s purchase of surveillance software was found dead with a suicide note.
The agent, identified only by his surname Lim, was discovered dead in his car Saturday outside Seoul parked on a dead-end road, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
Lim’s suicide note rejected claims South Korea was spying on civilian phones and web-based transmissions, according to The New York Times. Last week the National Intelligence Service revealed to South Korean lawmakers the agency had been using the software for surveillance.
South Korea press reported that Lim wrote in his note there were “no investigations of South Korean citizens,” and that surveillance was targeting possible terrorist and North Korea activities.
Lim’s note also stated he had “deleted the materials from North Korea-related surveillance that may cause misunderstanding,” and on a separate page wrote letters of apology to his wife and two young daughters.
South Korea police said they made the note public after persuading Lim’s grieving family to grant permission.
“We made the letter public to do away with unnecessary suspicions,” police said.
Police also said Lim left his house early, around 4:50 a.m. on Saturday, and purchased prepared foods, a bottle of alcohol, a pack of cigarettes, as well as two packs of charcoal and five pieces of ignition charcoal.
Lim’s car was captured on road surveillance camera around 6:20 a.m., passing an area less than a mile from the area where he was found dead.
Police said the boxed foods were used as fuel for the burning of charcoal and that they found the car was filled with fumes upon discovery.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has not commented on the incident, but Seoul’s spy agency previously has been connected to charges of leading an online smear campaign against Park’s opponents in the 2012 presidential elections.
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