2012 NIS public opinion manipulation scandal

The 2012 NIS public opinion manipulation scandal saw members of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea accused of interfering in the South Korean presidential election, 2012. First, an agent of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was alleged to have manipulated public opinion to help Park Geun-hye's presidential election under the command of the NIS. Second, the director of the agency commanded an NIS agent to manipulate public opinion. Suspicions were raised before the election, but were not verified until afterwards.^[1]

On April 30, prosecutors raided the headquarters of the South Korean National Intelligence Service.^[2] On June 12, the head of the NIS, Won Sei-hoon and the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Kim Yong-pan were prosecuted for interfering in the election.^[3] In 2015, the Supreme Court acquitted Kim of charges of abusing his power to manipulate the investigation.^[4] In 2016, a prosecutors' investigation had turned up evidence that the NIS had effectively been orchestrating the activities of conservative groups since the administration of former president Lee Myung-bak (2008–2013). The evidence shows that the NIS has been involved not only in political advertisements that conservative groups have run in newspapers but also in their plans to hold one-person protests and to hand out pamphlets. "An agent surnamed Park who was on the NIS's psychological warfare team supported and supervised right-wing conservative organizations and right-wing youth organizations.”^[5]