Opposition parties have called on the ruling Democratic Party to clear up suspicions regarding a closed-door meeting between the head of the DP’s think tank and the nation’s intelligence chief. 

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party as well as the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party and the Party for Democracy and Peace said on Monday that National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon needs to address the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee on his meeting last week with Institute for Democracy Director Yang Jeong-cheol. 

The LKP's spokeswoman Chun Hee-kyoung argued Yang is one of President Moon Jae-in’s closest aides and the person in charge of the ruling party’s campaign for the upcoming general elections, adding it should be thoroughly investigated. 

The Bareumirae’s spokesman Lee Jong-cheol claimed the meeting flies in the face of the Moon administration’s long-standing stance against political intervention by the spy agency. 

A spokesman for the DP cautioned against excessive speculation, emphasizing it was only a private meeting between two colleagues who have known each other since they worked together on Moon’s presidential camp. 

According to reports on Monday, Yang met Suh at a restaurant in southern Seoul last Tuesday evening, a week after the former’s inauguration as head of the ruling Democratic Party think tank.