The Board of Audit and Inspection investigating the Kim Sun-il case says an AP reporter mentioned the South Korean hostage's name during his telephone conversations with a Foreign Ministry official in early June.

The reporter, Choi Sang-hoon, was summoned and investigated by the BAI earlier this week.

But state auditors say they had been unable to find a telephone record between the reporter and the Foreign Ministry during their initial search. The auditors said they plan to re-examine the records in coming days.

The BAI quoted another AP reporter, Lee Soo-jung, as saying she did not recall whether she had called the Foreign Ministry.

The BAI plans to send a list of questions to the Seoul branch of the Associated Press to inquire why it had edited and condensed a 13-minute videotape to less than five minutes for public release. The BAI also wants to clarify why the AP had publically disclosed the videotape more than three weeks after obtaining it.