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DE RUEHUL #3760/01 3050813
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R 010813Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY SEOUL
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INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1442
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1534
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUALSFJ/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J2 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA J5 SEOUL KOR
RHMFISS/COMUSKOREA SCJS SEOUL KOR
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//OSD/ISA/EAP//

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 003760 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2014 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KS
SUBJECT: KOREA'S NEW INTEL CHIEF NAMED 
 
REF: SEOUL 03719 
 
Classified By: POL M/C Joseph Y. Yun.  Reasons 1.4 (b,d). 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (U) President Roh Moo-hyun named Kim Man-bok as the new 
chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) on November 
¶1.  Kim is a career NIS officer and has been serving as the 
Deputy at NIS since April of this year.  The nomination came 
in the wake of the abrupt resignation of the former NIS chief 
Kim Seung-kyu on October 26.  Kim was investigating a 
high-profile espionage scandal (reftel) that some say is 
partly to blame for his departure.  Kim would likely assume 
the Chief position in late November assuming that he receives 
a favorable report from the National Assembly Intelligence 
Committee.  END SUMMARY. 
 
BIOGRAPHIC DATA 
--------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Kim was born in Busan in 1946.  He received his 
bachelor's degree in law from Seoul National University.  He 
joined NIS in 1974 where he has worked since that time.  The 
following are some of his career details: 
 
- Worked overseas at foreign bureaus for 10 years. 
- Member of advance team for Kim Dae-jung's trip to Pyongyang 
in 2000. 
- Trained at Sejong Institute where he became an acquaintance 
of Lee Jong-seok in 2002. 
- Appointed NSC Information Management Chief in 2003, under 
the supervision of Lee Jong-seok. 
- Chief of Planning and Coordination (Vice Minister level) 
since 2004, led NIS reform. 
- NIS Deputy Chief since April 2006. 
 
WHERE IS NIS HEADED? 
-------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) By naming someone from within the organization, the 
Blue House appears to be trying to maintain the 
organizational stability and keep a firm grip on NIS (by 
appointing a loyalist) at the end of this administration's 
term.  Skeptics point to Kim's promotion as evidence that the 
Blue House is trying to cover-up the spy scandal that is in 
the early stages of investigation within the NIS.  Current 
media coverage casts doubt on the notion of a cover-up by 
citing President Roh's approval and support of the espionage 
investigation that began in May when he was first approached 
about the possibility of an investigation. 
 
QUESTIONS SURROUNDING KIM'S DEPARTURE 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Although President Roh has been quoted as saying that 
"I do not change horses on the battlefield," some critics say 
that Roh requested Kim's resignation in an internal meeting 
on October 25.  The opposition Grand National Party (GNP) 
offered its opinion on the matter by saying, "The resignation 
on the 26th was definitely submitted under the Blue House's 
influence" and went on to say Kim should remain in office at 
least until the espionage case was fully investigated. 
Various Uri Party officials as well as DLP Representative 
Kwan Young-ghil's Chief of Staff told poloff that the NIS 
switch was expected and not related to the latest espionage 
scandal or dissatisfaction within the Blue House. 
 
CONFIRMATION PROCESS 
-------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Regardless of the reasons behind Kim's departure, 
incoming Kim will experience loud opposition during the 
confirmation process.  As the only member of the cabinet who 
is subject to a formal recommendation by a National Assembly 
committee, some officials are concerned that the opposition 
GNP Party may use the process as an opportunity to delay 
Kim's approval thereby expressing their objection to other 
cabinet appointments for which their input is not required 
for ratification.  Intelligence committee member Gong 
Song-jin told poloff that even though there would be 
resistance from the GNP, there was no way to block Kim's 
nomination.  He said the committee has tried to block 
previous appointments to NIS, but had failed due to lack of 
votes in the Uri dominated Intelligence Committee.  He said 
that as long as the Uri Party voted together, Kim would pass 
through the committee.  NOTE:  The Intelligence Committee 
that will review Kim's nomination is comprised of 7 Uri Party 
members and 5 GNP members.  END NOTE.  Representative Choi 
Jae-cheon (also a member of the Intelligence Committee), in 
an internal Uri Party meeting, spoke out strongly against 
Kim's appointment.  He said that Kim was not qualified for 
the position and would have retired had he not met Lee 
Jong-seok while at the Sejong Institute.  He saw this as 
"code" personnel and internally expressed strong views 
against Kim's nomination but, that said, allowed that Kim 
would pass through the committee without major problems. 
VERSHBOW