South Korea's spy agency illegally conducted wiretaps of leading society figures under the administration of former President Kim Dae-jung, the National Intelligence Service said in a statement on Friday. Prosecutors have been investigating the suspected illegal wiretapping and eavesdropping of top business and social leaders conducted by the spy agency in the mid to late 1990s, under Kim's predecessor Kim Young-sam, who served from 1993 to 1998.
But the intelligence service's statement on Friday meant the practice had continued after Kim Young-sam's presidency ended.
"Illegal wiretappings were conducted by the spy agency before March 2003," the agency said in a statement, commenting on the results of an interim investigation.
The investigation and possible disclosure of the contents of the conversations recorded by the spy agency have been a cause of concern for many business and social leaders in South Korea.
South Korea's ambassador to the United States offered to resign late last month after major South Korean media outlets reported that the spy agency recorded a conversation of his where he talked about being a broker for shady campaign contributions. Ambassador Hong Seok-hyun told reporters he did not recall having the conversation.
Kim Dae-jung was a former political prisoner who was sentenced to death for his role in challenging authoritarian regimes. He was president from 1998 to 2003 and won the Nobel Peace Prize for orchestrating an unprecedented and unrepeated summit between himself and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il in 2000.