2 Allegedly spied on S Korean businessman

Arrest warrants were issued Tuesday for two former South Korean presidential secretaries accused of spying on a businessman critical of President Lee Myung-bak. One of the warrants issued by a Seoul court charges Lee Young-ho, 48, a former presidential secretary for employment and labor affairs, of ordering an ethics division official of the prime minister's office to erase data on computer hard drives in 2010, before prosecutors began investigating a surveillance case involving the unidentified businessman, Yonhap News Agency reported. The second warrant accuses Choi Jong-seok, who works under Lee Young-ho, of having a role in destroying the evidence and offering 40 million won ($35,650) to Jang Jin-su, a former ethics division official in the prime minister's office, as hush money. Jang was convicted of destroying evidence related to the unauthorized surveillance. A total of seven officials, including Jang, were indicted for allegedly spying on the businessman, who posted a video clip criticizing the Lee government for resuming U.S. beef imports in 2008. A Yonhap report last week said an ethics team from the prime minister's office had uncovered more than 2,600 instances in which the South Korean government allegedly had spied on politicians, journalists and civilians between 2008 and 2010. The revelations come ahead of the country's April 11 parliamentary elections.