Defense minister decided not to disclose military intel unit's confidential documents in March considering political situations

Following President Moon Jae-in's order for the military to immediately turn in all documents related to the intel unit's contingency plan for troop deployment during the 2016-'17 candlelight protests against the former corrupt president..., the defense chief has unveiled further details about the controversy.Park Ji-won reports. As a special team began its investigation into allegations raised about the Defense Security Command on Monday,... questions are being raised about why it has taken so long,... since defense minister Song Young-moo was first briefed about the existence of such documents back in March.There are questions over why minister Song didn't take any actions over the documents until early July,... when President Moon Jae-in gave an urgent order to launch the independent investigation.The defense ministry announced Monday that minister Song had decided to not to disclose the documents based on the political situation at the time. "The minister had decided not to disclose the documents in order to maintain a friendly atmosphere on the peninsula for the success of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, as well as for the following inter-Korean summit talks. The minister also considered the possibility of the matter being used politically during the local elections on June 13th." The defense ministry said Song held meetings with key presidential aides in late April,... the earliest possible time the defense chief could talk to the presidential office on the need for reform of the Defense Security Command,... after the inter-Korean summit on April 27th,... and mentioned the existence of such documents without fully revealing the details.Since then, the ministry has launched a reform taskforce. "The reform of the Defense Security Command will focus on completely preventing the intelligence unit's interference in domestic politics, through stern investigation and strict punishment for those involved in illegal acts,... and will improve the legal and institutional framework, so that the intel unit can focus on its counter-espionage and security activities." The controversial documents suggest that the intelligence unit had attempted to illegally interfere in domestic politics regarding the 2014 Sewol-ho ferry disaster.Other documents suggest that it drew up a contingency plan regarding the possibility of martial law,... during the nationwide candlelight demonstrations,... that demanded the resignation of former President Park Geun-hye. Park Ji-won, Arirang News.