An enduring mystery in Seoul is the fate of a former South Korean spy chief who disappeared in Paris in 1979.
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Former KCIA Director Kim Hyung-wook's 1979 disappearance in Paris has never been explained.
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In an interview with the liberal Hankyoreh newspaper, the former intelligence official said that Kim was killed in a conspiracy by the KCIA to stop his anti-government activities.
About eight KCIA officials were involved in the operation, and all of them are still alive, he said. "Kim's body was most likely to be buried in Paris," the former agent said.
The report has boosted widespread rumors that then-military strongman, President Park Chung-Hee, purged Kim due to his outright criticism of Park's dictatorship.
The Monthly Chosun, published by the country's largest daily Chosun Ilbo, also cited a former spy as saying Kim was murdered on Oct. 7, 1979 in a conspiracy by his successor, Kim Jae-Kyu, a right-hand man of Park and the KCIA chief.
Kim, who helped Park in a 1961 military coup, served as KCIA chief for six years from 1969. After his retirement, however, he turned into an outspoken critic of Park and publicly charged that human right abuses were being committed by the military regime.
He fled to the United States in 1973 and went missing while traveling in Paris in 1979. He was last seen at a casino there.
Rumors have lingered over his whereabouts. According to some reports, KCIA agents may have kidnapped and killed Kim at Park's command, since Kim was attempting to testify against Park before the U.S. Congress.
In an ironic and tragic twist, Park himself was assassinated by Kim Jae-Kyu, his KCIA chief, on Oct. 26, 1979. According to news reports at the time, Kim was angered at being denied access to Park by his personal security chief.
Former agency officials also testified that the KCIA used French gangsters to kill Kim because the agency had been criticized about mistakes made in the abduction of dissident Kim Dae-Jung, who survived and was elected his country's president in 1997.
The testimony came as the country is doubling efforts to revisit its tumultuous modern history. The state spy agency has already formed a government-private investigation team to shed light on its alleged past wrongdoing.
Kim's disappearance is one of seven suspicious cases the National Intelligent Service, formerly KCIA, is now reinvestigating. Members of NIS's fact-finding committee said they would review the reports on Kim's death but have made no comments as they said the reports have not yet been confirmed.
