A parliamentary investigation into a serious allegation that the state spy agency meddled in the December presidential election is not proceeding smoothly. Chiefly responsible is the ruling Saenuri Party, which demands the entire testimony of the agency be closed to the public.

True, the information the National Intelligence Service is to share with the ad hoc investigation committee of the National Assembly may contain sensitive intelligence. If so, the sensitive part of the hearing can be conducted behind closed doors under a bipartisan agreement.

Basically, hearings held at the National Assembly are for public view. Opening them to the public undoubtedly encourages political participation and enhances transparency in dealing with complicated cases.

But the committee members affiliated with the Saenuri Party boycotted a hearing last Friday when their demand that the entire session on the spy agency be held in private was not accepted by the main opposition Democratic Party. Were the Saenuri lawmakers determined to find the truth for public good or were they all out to rescue the embattled spy agency?

The case centers on Won Sei-hoon, director of the NIS from February 2009 to February this year. Won is now in the custody of the prosecution which has charged him with corruption. The prosecution is also conducting a separate criminal investigation into the political scandal implicating him.

The scandal dates back to Feb. 17, 2012, when, the prosecution said, Won denigrated opposition politicians as pro-Pyongyang political forces and told senior intelligence officers that they were attempting to take power in alliance with North Korea. He allegedly said the spy agency would not exist any longer if they won the upcoming presidential election.

The spy agency’s meddling in the presidential election came to the fore several weeks ahead of the Dec. 19 election when one of its female employees was found to have made online comments against the presidential candidate of the opposition party. But on the eve of the election, the National Police Agency announced it found no such online comments. But a video clip, made public at an investigation committee session on Thursday, showed a police officer talking with another officer about the deletion of online comments by the spy agency.

Institutional reform is needed to prevent the spy agency from meddling in domestic politics. No true democracy would permit its spy agency to conduct clandestine operations against opposition politicians. Nor would it allow its police agency to attempt to cover up such operations.

It goes without saying the proposed reform must be based on the findings of not only the prosecution but the parliamentary investigation committee. As such, the ruling party must refrain from the temptation to trip up the parliamentary committee in its efforts to uncover the spy agency’s alleged transgression. Not much time is left for this mission, with the committee’s investigation scheduled to close on Aug. 15.