Former South Korean spy chief Won Sei Hoon has been convicted of posting online criticism against liberal candidates during the 2012 presidential election. He was sentenced to jail for 2 and a half years, until the judge recently suspended the decision.

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Won Sei Hoon violated the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Act that disallows spy agents to get involved in politics. In 2012, he directed a team of agents to post more than 1.2 million messages on Twitter and other online forums in order to sway public opinion in favor of Park Geun Hye, the current, conservative president. Some comments went so far as to call the liberal candidates servants of North Korea because of their desire to be at peace with the country.

While some find it odd that Won Sei Hoon should be jailed for simply posting criticism and opinions, according to the court, he committed a crime because he and his agents posed as ordinary citizens in order to manipulate the people and interfere with the democratic system.

Won Sei Hoon, however, was not convicted of violating a the Public Official Election Act, which disallows public servants from interfering with elections. Although his comments were meant to aid Park Geun Hye in her campaign, they never explicitly supported her or opposed any specific candidate. If he had been convicted of this, President Park Geun Hye herself could have been accused of not having a legitimate election win.

In the video clip above taken on September 11, Won Sei Hoon comments, "I am thankful that the trial has justly found that I'm innocent on the charge of violating the Public Official Election Act." He adds, "As for the charge that I violated the NIS Act, [the trial is actually] not about how far I got involved into politics…," trailing off, as if to imply that there is more to the story than being reported. He later continues, "We will do our best with the appeal trial process."