South Korea's spy chief was under fire from opposition media on Monday for the publicity surrounding his mission to save the hostages held by Afghanistan's Taliban.
SEOUL: South Korea's spy chief was under fire from opposition media on Monday for the publicity surrounding his mission to save the hostages held by Afghanistan's Taliban.
National Intelligence Service head Kim Man-Bok returned home Sunday with 19 former hostages after staying in Kabul for 11 days to supervise South Korea's direct negotiations with the insurgents.
On the plane home, Kim told he decided to travel to Afghanistan on August 22 to 'revive the deadlocked negotiations and speed up the decision-making process.'
Back in Seoul, he said he would go anytime to "the jaws of death for our people threatened with death."
Newspapers on Monday carried pictures of Kim talking to the former hostages in a Kabul hotel. He was also seen holding interviews on the plane.
The publicity sparked criticism from opposition politicians and media.
"Judging from his indiscreet activity, we doubt Kim Man-Bok had acted properly as NIS chief" in Afghanistan, JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said in an editorial.
The Chosun Ilbo said that while the NIS is more appropriate than the foreign ministry in such negotiations, "the problem is the behaviour of its director Kim, who has shown himself to the public. "We believe he would be better as a politician, not as intelligence chief."
There have been unconfirmed reports that Kim plans to stand for parliament in next year's general election.
The main opposition Grand National Party said on Sunday, "It's inappropriate for the intelligence chief to expose his face and show his role in directing negotiations."
Presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-Seon said Kim was in Afghanistan "to mobilise all possible channels for the early release of all the hostages."
He was 'inevitably' in the media because the hotel where he was staying was the only safe place in Kabul, Cheon said.
The Taliban abducted 16 women and seven Christian aid workers on July 19. They murdered two men last month to press demands -- rejected by Kabul -- to exchange the Koreans for Taliban prisoners.
After starting talks with South Korean officials, the Taliban on August 13 released two women and freed the remainder on last Wednesday and Thursday.
Seoul agreed in return to withdraw its troops by year-end, as previously scheduled, and to stop trips by its missionaries to the Islamic nations.
It has denied foreign media reports that a ransom was paid.
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