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takyon writes:

A South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) employee, only known so far as "Lim", has been found dead in his car after an apparent suicide. He left a will confirming details of the use of software from Italian firm Hacking Team. However, he denied that the software was used to spy domestically, as opposition legislators believe. The man admitted to deleting important information about the hacking.

It has emerged that mobile phones were tracked and monitored just before the presidential election in 2012. Government and NIS officials have denied opposition claims that the spyware — bought from an Italian company — was used to monitor South Koreans in general. They insist that its purpose was to boost the country's cyber-warfare capabilities against North Korea.

The BBC's Stephen Evans, in South Korea, says that the note left by the dead man implies that phones were monitored only to keep tabs on people connected to North Korea and not to besmirch opponents of the right-of-centre president. The spy agency had a scandalous reputation in the years before South Korea embraced democracy in the 1980s, and was involved in abductions and killings. The modern NIS is not accused of such serious offences but has nevertheless been embroiled in several scandals, including election meddling. Opposition politicians allege that it is not politically neutral, breaks the law and is a political tool for sitting presidents. Last week the Supreme Court ordered a review of the conviction of former NIS head Won Sei-hoon, who was sentenced to three years in jail in February for trying to influence the results of the 2012 presidential election.

South Korean NIS chief Lee Byoung Ho recently admitted to "exploring" the purchase of Hacking Team software to intercept communications using the popular Kakao Talk smartphone chat app, but didn't confirm making a purchase and claimed the agency only intended to monitor North Korean agents. The Korea Observer has described leaked Hacking Team emails with a Korean client interested in purchasing Remote Control System (RCS) software from the company.

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