The majority of the cases outlined in newly revealed evidence concerning the Prime Minister’s Office placing civilians under illicit surveillance were compiled as part of legitimate police procedure during the previous administration, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

About 80 percent of the documents were compiled during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, said the presidential office.

In addition, the presidential office says that of the 420 or so cases conducted under the current administration, only about 120 cases were compiled as documented reports. The claims were corroborated by the prosecutors’ office investigating the case, which announced that 121 cases were conducted by the PMO’s ethics division between 2008 and 2010. The cases were summarized in about 450 documents.

Of the 2,200 or so cases drawn up during the previous administration, more than 1,000 were compiled by the police for internal use. Information found in the police documents include that regarding officers with ranks higher than senior superintendent from 2003 to 2007 and human resource management within the agency. The files also include police-related media news stories and surveys concerning the police force and its policies. The documents also include about 70 concerning the results of internal inspections, and about 480 files on developments in trials involving police officers and an association of current and retired officers.

The police-related documents were found on a USB memory device owned by Kim Ki-hyun, a police officer who worked for the PMO’s ethics division from 2009 to 2010.

With regards to information compiled under the current administration, a marked change appears after July 2008 in that the number of civilians placed under surveillance increased in the following months.

The reports concerning journalists and media organizations are all said to have been compiled after July 2008, soon after the widely supported candlelight protests were held.

Other files containing information that may be outside the jurisdiction of PMO’s ethics division include those on National Police Agency Commissioner Cho Hyun-oh. The files also include a number of high-level government officials who stepped down from office soon after the files were compiled including former Minister of National Defense Lee Sang-hee.

Those drawn up under the previous administration are not free from cases that may be outside the jurisdiction of the administrative arm of the government.

Investigations have shown that information regarding Hyundai Motor Co.’s labor union and the JU Group were collected under the previous administration.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)