[단독] It’s been a year and a half since the CIA’s wiretap office was built, but the president’s office says it’s still under construction.

2024-09-28 11:09:42

◀ Anchor▶

After President Yoon Seok-yeol moved the Blue House from the Blue House to the Yongsan Defense Ministry Building, controversy over the “hasty relocation” continued.

In April last year, after it was revealed that the CIA was suspected of eavesdropping on conversations at the presidential palace, news broke that the nation’s top security facilities had been bugged, causing an uproar.

Now, one year and six months have passed, have all the problems been solved?

The MBC report confirmed that the Blue House Security Department has not completed the expansion of the Blue House anti-eavesdropping system.

This is an exclusive report by reporter Shin Soo-ah.

◀ Report ▶

In April last year, at a national security meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Palace, documents suspected of wiretapping by the CIA were leaked.

The remarks of then-National Security Office Chief Kim Sung-han and then-Cheong Wa Dae Foreign Minister Ri Moon-hee when they were worried about supporting Ukrainian artillery shells were revealed in detail.

As the response grew, the Presidential Office claimed at the time that “the security situation at the Yongsan Government Building is very good, safer than Cheong Wa Dae,” but did not give a specific explanation.

[김태효/국가안보실 1차장 (지난해 4월)]

“We have found no evidence that the United States has any ill intentions towards us, please do not ask in detail.”

The Presidential Office, known for its “tight security,” received approximately 5.2 billion won in reserves in September last year and stated that it would improve security equipment and facilities.

The explanation is, “In order to extend the eavesdropping prevention system installed only in some areas such as the President’s Office to facilities mainly used by the President.”

However, according to MBC reports, it can be confirmed that the anti-eavesdropping project at the Presidential Palace has not yet been completed.

The Presidential Security Office said: “We have completed the improvement of provincial eavesdropping facilities in key areas, but construction in other areas is in progress, and the goal is to complete the construction within this year.”

The reason why the construction took more than a year was explained as “the construction was inevitably delayed due to the continued use of the presidential palace for commercial purposes, as was the delivery of equipment produced abroad”.

The National Security Agency has recently been criticized by the National Assembly Steering Committee for “improper budget execution” because last year’s anti-eavesdropping construction cost was about 5.2 billion won, but the National Security Agency only spent 60 million won (about 1%).

Opposition parties criticized the hasty relocation of Cheong Wa Dae and threatened national security.

[박지원/더불어민주당 의원]

“To build without defense is to be extremely insensitive to security and completely cede our security to North Korea and foreign countries…”

He also announced that the Blue House relocation will be thoroughly verified in a government audit next month.

I’m Shin Soo-ah from MBC News.

Video Reporter: Lee Ji-ho/Video Editor: Kim Jong-un

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