Summary of "[현장영상] "대북송금 실체 밝힐 첩보 있다"…국정원장 10분간 '작심발언' / JTBC News"

Overview

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) director delivered a formal agency report on a special audit into allegations of advance payments/remittances to North Korea tied to the Ssangbangwool case and related matters. The audit was conducted as an administrative investigation from June 30 to November 30, 2025, in response to requests from members of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee and the Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office. The NIS reports it has continued to brief lawmakers and courts after the audit period.

Key findings and points

Audit scope and process

The audit responded to multiple requests from lawmakers to investigate:
- Ssangbangwool donations,
- alleged stock manipulation,
- possible involvement by government offices.
Legal/organizational context:
- The NIS Act was extensively amended on December 15, 2020.
- Investigative authority for NIS employees was reinstated on January 1, 2024.
Reporting: audit findings were reported to the Intelligence Committee (plenary sessions on September 2 and November 4, 2025) and provided in follow-up briefings to committee members.

Inspection department staffing and conduct

A new inspection-department position was created in July 2022; former prosecutor Lee Chang-yeon was appointed as special investigator.
The task force investigated possible illegal or unlawful NIS intervention in Ssangbangwool’s inter-Korean cooperation project and identified suspicions of semi-official involvement at a deputy-director level.
The task force recommended issuing a formal investigation notice, but the matter was instead processed as a notification to the Ministry of Unification; subsequent follow-up by the ministry is unclear.
The inspection report did not establish a connection between Ssangbangwool and Gyeonggi Province, and that inspection report was not officially provided to the Suwon prosecutors.

Cooperation with Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office and selective document handling

After Yoo Do-yoon became Chief of the Inspection Department (February 6, 2024), Suwon prosecutors requested NIS records (March 29, 2024).
The North Korea Collection Department provided a classified list of 66 reports (based on human source Ahn Bu-soo). Department heads later identified 13 items for review; a search warrant (May 18) led to seizure of those 13 items only.
The NIS states that other internal materials potentially offering different perspectives on the Ssangbangwool remittance were omitted during voluntary submission and during the search-and-seizure process.

Presidential Office involvement and interpretation of sanctions

The Ministry of Economy and Finance issued a legal interpretation (February 27, 2024) that certain North Korean entities (United Front Department, Asia-Pacific Committee) were not subject to financial sanctions applied to the Workers’ Party. The Presidential Office’s Office for Public Discipline intervened.
Then-Secretary Lee Si-won questioned the exemption and sought clarification. NIS Deputy Director Hwang Won-jin reportedly opined those entities should be included in sanctions, but the then-NIS director ordered revisions that excluded wording implying inclusion.
There was disagreement about which agency should lead an interagency clarification meeting; the NIS director suggested the National Security Office, not the NIS, should chair.
The NIS issued a written response on March 14 (year unspecified) reflecting some revisions.

Newly identified intelligence and evidentiary material

In response to a prosecutor request (March 29, 2023) for records covering February 2018–January 2020 on Ssangbangwool, Kim Sung-tae and Ahn Bu-soo, the special audit found many internal NIS documents not submitted at trial.
Reportedly included in those documents:
- Evidence or reporting that Ssangbangwool employed North Korean workers.
- Indications that Kim Sung-tae and Ahn Bu-soo attempted stock manipulation using North Korea business ties.
- Information that a claimed July 2019 overseas trip by Kim was false or that Kim engaged in illegal overseas gambling.
- Information that a planned smart-board construction project in Hwanghae Province (purportedly funded on behalf of Gyeonggi Province) did not actually proceed.
The NIS says these materials may help determine the true nature of the alleged remittances/donations.

Classified handling, limits on disclosure, and next steps

The NIS cautioned it cannot fully disclose certain intelligence or details of covert activities under Article 17 of the NIS Act.
The special audit results were produced and submitted as a Class 2 secret (submitted March 24 to the Suwon District Court’s 11th Criminal Division).
The NIS stated it will continue to cooperate with courts and state agencies per law, but asked for understanding about limits on public disclosure at committee meetings.

The NIS emphasized statutory limits on disclosure under Article 17 of the NIS Act and noted that some materials are classified and cannot be fully revealed in public or committee settings.

Closing of the report

The director concluded the NIS report and invited the Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan to present next.

Presenters and contributors (as named in subtitles)

Note: subtitle transcriptions contained typos and name variants; the list below follows names as they appear in the subtitles.

Lee Jong-seok — Director, National Intelligence Service (speaker in the report)
Park Seon-won — National Assembly Intelligence Committee member/secretary (requested audit)
Park Ji-won — Committee member (requested information)
Lee Ki-won — Committee member (requested investigation)
Shin Seong-beom — Chairman, National Assembly Intelligence Committee (plenary presiding)
Lee Seong-gwon / Lee Seong-gong — Committee secretaries/recipients of briefings (subtitle variants)
Kim Byeong-gi — Committee member (received briefing)
Lee Chang-yeon — Appointed special investigator (former prosecutor; led inspection task force)
Yoo Do-yoon — Chief, NIS Inspection Department (involved in cooperation with Suwon prosecutors)
Yoo Dae-won — Named as a department head in subtitles (possibly same/different person involved in document handling)
Ahn Bu-soo — President, Arti Association (human source referenced)
Hwang Won-jin — Then-Deputy Director, NIS (expressed an opinion on sanctions interpretation)
Jo/Cho Tae-yong (subtitle variants: Jo Tae-young / Cho Tae-hyung / Cho Tae-yong) — Then-Director of the NIS (involved in document revision and interagency chairing decision)
Lee Si-won — Then-Secretary, Office for Public Discipline, Presidential Office
Kim Sung-tae — Private individual named in investigation
Suwon District Prosecutor’s Office / 6th Criminal Division — Investigative authority requesting NIS cooperation
Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan — Asked to present next