[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Han Donghoon: NIS "Effectively Admits" Its Chief Was Denied Entry to U.S.; NIS: "Not True at All"

NIS: "Difficult to respond due to South Korea-U.S. intelligence cooperation and national security matters"
Han Donghoon: "Response followed headquarters instructions... effectively acknowledged my claim"
NIS immediately refutes claim: "Claims relate

Yonhap News Agency

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon claimed that the National Intelligence Service had effectively acknowledged allegations that its chief, Lee Jong-seok, was denied entry to the United States. The NIS immediately denied the claim again, saying it was "completely untrue," and a dispute over the facts continued between the two sides.

At a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Unification by the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee at the Inter-Korean Talks Headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on October 7, Han disclosed the NIS's response to the allegations he had raised the previous day that Lee was denied entry to the United States.

According to Han, the NIS replied at around 6 p.m. that day, saying, "It is difficult to provide a response because this concerns intelligence cooperation between South Korea and the United States and national security." Han said the NIS had verbally explained that the response was "in accordance with instructions from NIS headquarters."

The previous day, during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Han claimed that Lee had sought to visit the United States around March this year, but that U.S. authorities had denied him entry, citing his anti-American leanings and other concerns.

Han interpreted the NIS's response as effectively confirming his claim. Referring to the fact that the NIS had issued a detailed rebuttal to a report the previous day about a visa being denied to an NIS employee scheduled to be posted to the United States, he said, "Judging by common sense, the NIS's statement today, a day later, effectively acknowledges that my claim was true."

The NIS immediately refuted Han's claim. In a statement distributed to the media, it said, "We once again make clear that the reports concerning the U.S. denying entry to the NIS director are completely untrue."

The NIS also stressed that Foreign Minister Cho Hyun had denied the allegations at the parliamentary audit the previous day. In response to Han's claim, Cho said, "Not to my knowledge," adding, "There is no way that could be the case."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.