According to the Blue House there is nothing to see here, move along:
Cho Kuk (R), President Moon Jae-in’s top secretary for civil affairs, answers questions from lawmakers at the National Assembly on Dec. 31, 2018, over the presidential office’s alleged surveillance of civilians. (Yonhap)
President Moon Jae-in’s secretary for civil affairs said Monday that the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae has not surveilled civilians for political purposes, shrugging off a former investigator’s spying claim. Controversy has flared up after Kim Tae-woo, a former special investigator at the presidential office, made the revelation that he had collected information, including info about civilians and former bureaucrats who should not be subject to Cheong Wa Dae surveillance. Surveillance of civilians has been a sensitive issue in South Korea as former conservative governments were blamed for illegally spying on citizens for political purposes. Cho Kuk, Moon’s top secretary for civil affairs, and Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok flatly rejected Kim’s claim at a meeting of the parliamentary steering committee that oversees Cheong Wa Dae. Kim was under Cho’s supervision. It marked the first time since 2006 that a presidential secretary for civil affairs spoke at the parliamentary panel. The revelation came after Kim was forced to return to his original post at the prosecution last month over an allegation that he sought to influence a police probe into a corruption case involving his acquaintance. “The bottom line is that as Kim has become almost certain to face disciplinary actions due to his irregularities, he crafted a rare hoax by distorting the due work process into a political issue and trying to cover up his misconduct,” Cho told lawmakers. The presidential civil affairs team under the Moon government has not surveilled civilians or drawn up blacklists (of people critical of the government) unlike other previous administrations),” he stressed.
It looks like the the Chinese are trying to find a way to blacklist certain citizens:
China’s plan to judge each of its 1.3 billion people based on their social behavior is moving a step closer to reality, with Beijing set to adopt a lifelong points program by 2021 that assigns personalized ratings for each resident.
The capital city will pool data from several departments to reward and punish some 22 million citizens based on their actions and reputations by the end of 2020, according to a plan posted on the Beijing municipal government’s website on Monday. Those with better so-called social credit will get “green channel” benefits while those who violate laws will find life more difficult.
The Beijing project will improve blacklist systems so that those deemed untrustworthy will be “unable to move even a single step,” according to the government’s plan. Xinhua reported on the proposal Tuesday, while the report posted on the municipal government’s website is dated July 18. [Bloomberg]
You can read more at the link, but for those that have served in the US Army they are familiar with Officer Record Briefs (ORB) and Enlisted Record Briefs (ERB). These documents record a Soldiers schools, promotions, awards, deployments, etc. so someone can have a one sheet snapshot of that person. Unlike an ERB and ORB it appears the Chinese are trying to take this a step further by awarding points for what is recorded on each of their citizens.
I am sure that anyone that disagrees with the government on anything will soon find their points drastically reduced denying them benefits.
