The Marmot’s Hole

The man who leaked secret documents pertaining to Korea-U.S. negotiations over the issue of “strategic flexibility” to an Uri Party lawmaker was a Foreign Ministry official dispatched to Cheong Wa Dae as a protocol officer, reports the JoongAng Ilbo (see also the Chosun Ilbo, Dong-A Ilbo). From the JoongAng:

Speculation is rising that Lee Jong-heon, the mid-level Blue House official who leaked classified documents on strategic flexibility, did so as a result of clashes within the government regarding Korea’s alliance with the United States. Political analysts said yesterday that Mr. Lee has long been noted for his calls for Korea to be more independent in the alliance. Discord between Mr. Lee’s faction and a group in favor of the alliance have long been an issue under the Roh administration and analysts say the leak is proof of this. They claim Mr. Lee gave the documents to a governing Uri Party lawmaker to make the U.S. strategic flexibility agreement an issue and thus embarrass Unification Minister Lee Jeong-seok.

According to a number of media reports, the clash over the alliance was not between pro-alliance figures and the so-called “independence” faction, but within the independence faction itself. Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok, who we all know and love for his work as deputy National Security Council chief, is a noted member of the independence faction and an alleged member of the Cheong Wa Dae “Taliban.” In some quarters, however, he isn’t “independent” enough; in actual negotiations with the United States, it seems he’s been much more pragmatic than his reputation would suggest. The Hanguk Ilbo suggests that what we’re witnessing here is a square off between hardline independent diplomacy figures (mostly mid-ranked officials) and moderate independent diplomacy figures (mostly senior officials like Lee Jong-seok). It also noted that the hardliners within the Foreign Ministry, most of whom are not senior officials, have received help from highly nationalistic “386″ generation Cheong Wa Dae aides in their endeavor to restrain Unification Minister Lee, who was not only too pro-U.S. to their liking, but also refused to properly share information citing security concerns. Accordingly, said the Hanguk Ilbo, some in the Foreign Ministry are saying that the real leaks are high-ranking Cheong Wa Dae aides, something Cheong Wa Dae denies.
The Chosun Ilbo also looks into the whole mess. Aside from pointing out that Lee Jong-heon was an avid Roh Moo-hyun supporter, the paper explained some of the conflicts within the Foreign Ministry. In particular, it noted that while the Treaty Desk is the core desk of the foreign ministries of most countries when conducting international diplomacy, this is NOT the case in the Korean Foreign Ministry, where the North America Desk has traditionally called the shots in negotiations with the United States. The North America Desk prioritizes the relationship with the United States, and has tended to view concessions in some matters as unavoidable during negotiations with Washington. It has accordingly been dubbed the “alliance” faction. The Treaty Desk, meanwhile, has tended to be stress “independent interests,” and has been dubbed the “independence” faction.
When the two factions clashed in 2003-2004 over the question of the Korea-U.S. alliance, leaker Lee Jong-heon was a section chief at the Treaty Desk.
That conflict ended with an independence faction victory, said the Chosun, when then-Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan was sacked and much of North America Desk reassigned (see Brent Choi’s essay for a different take on that conflict). At that point, then-NSC deputy chief Lee Jong-seok was considered a member of the “independence” faction. But as talks over the Yongsan Garrison move and USFK reorganizations ensued, Lee got stamped as “pro-American.” It was at this time that documents were first leaked to Democratic Labor Party lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan (note: Lee Jong-heon has not been confirmed as the source of that leak, or any other leak other than the one to Uri Party lawmaker Choi Jae-cheon).
Interesting note: the official Lee Jong-heon got the leaked document from was Roh’s English interpretor, who happened to be the son of Lee Tae-shik, the current ambassador to the United States. Lee Jong-heon had no authority to take possession of the document, which was a Class 3 secret.
The “independence” faction claims that USFK strategic flexibility, which would allow U.S. forces based in Korea to respond to contingencies outside of the peninsula, would violate the Korea-U.S. mutual security pact; U.S. forces are stationed in Korea only to protect Korea, they say. They also slammed the North America Desk for the Yongsan negotiations; according to them, the North America desk negotiated for U.S. interests rather than Korean ones. The strategic flexibility negotiations saw a similar dynamic. Those talks were led by pro-alliance officials in the Foreign Minister, who were supported by Lee Jong-seok.

Another freakin’ leak

Meanwhile, someone leaked another secret document on USFK strategic flexibility to Democratic Labor Party lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan, the favored recipient of such leaks in the past. This document, he claimed, dealt with sensitive issues like missile defense and the redeployment of U.S. nuclear weapons to South Korea. See also the Korea Herald.