Former U.S. defense official calls for probe into 2006 espionage case

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- A former U.S. defense policymaker called Wednesday
for a renewed investigation into a 2006 case in which he was accused of
involvement in espionage against South Korea.

Speaking in a press conference in Seoul, Richard Lawless, former U.S. deputy
undersecretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, denied past
media allegations that he collaborated with South Korean locals to obtain
information on the East Asian ally.
In October 2006, local media reported that a South Korean tycoon and a few other
men worked as spies to obtain and analyze information that would later be handed
over to Lawless in the U.S.
The tycoon later filed a lawsuit saying the charges were fabricated. In December
last year, a South Korean court ruled against him, saying the report appears
"journalistically reasonable."
"In the court proceedings and the final proceeding, my name was specifically
mentioned along with others," Lawless said, contending the incident damaged the
U.S.-South Korea alliance.
Accusing the former Roh Moo-hyun administration that ended its tenure early last
year of having masterminded the accusation against him, Lawless hoped that the
National Assembly here would open an investigation to clarify suspicions
surrounding the case.
"I would suggest that the Korean National Assembly reconsider looking at this
issue again," he said.
Lawless stepped down in 2007 after serving several years under former U.S.
President George W. Bush. He played a key role in reshaping the U.S.-South Korea
military alliance, including the 2012-scheduled transfer of wartime operational
control of South Korean troops from the U.S.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)