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| Korea |
| Blundering at the Top |
| 2003-06-23 |
| Now that everyone knows who's in charge of Security A weird photo was published in many newspapers Monday. Taken last Friday when President Roh Moo-hyun visited the National Intelligence Service, faces of 22 mid-level officials from the spy agency, who are in the back row, were blacked out to protect their identities. But over at the Internet-based news service Ohmynews!, the same photo was posted without the concealment. The administrators of the site only corrected the slipup after it had been up for all to see for 39 hours. As a result, the 22 officials were all identifiable. The photo was taken on a day the president ordered that reforms go forward, and the NIS pledged to strengthen its information services in response. Considering this blunder, and the nature of the service, which is dedicated to the preservation of public peace, it may not be called the nation's top intelligence agency much longer. The photo was provided by Cheong Wa Dae to Ohmynews!, the government-friendly Internet news service that the president selected for his first interview while he was the president-elect. Cheong Wa Dae said that the photo was provided to the news service because it thought it wouldn’t cause much trouble. The incident shows the level of understanding about security held by Cheong Wa Dae staff members, who were previously student activists. Ohmynews! even wrote next to the photo: "Cheong Wa Dae publicizes the faces of 22 executive members of the NIS." Cheong Wa Dae and the NIS were both unaware that the problem version of the photo was on the Internet; finally someone found out and the news service was asked to delete the photo. After learning about this situation, it is difficult to avoid feeling insecure and worried about the nation's future. |
| Posted by:Michael |