Collision between rival parties took to new heights over the weekend as the opposition railed against the government’s alleged meddling in the prosecution’s probe into the spy agency and the military’s purported smear campaign against the progressives.

The main opposition Democratic Party returned to its outdoor rally on Saturday, slamming the ruling camp for attempting to sway the prosecution’s investigation into the National Intelligence Service by demoting a key prosecutor who has been spearheading the ongoing NIS probe. The rally came a month after the progressive party vowed to end its outdoor protest and focus on the ongoing audit at the National Assembly.

At a candlelight rally held by a coalition of 288 civic groups, the DP also protested the NIS and the military’s Cyber Warfare Command, which are accused of posting negative comments in favor of then-presidential candidate Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party last year.

On Friday, it was reported that Yoon Seok-yeol, a senior prosecutor previously in charge of the NIS investigation team, was moved to a regional office last week.

The DP immediately claimed the conservatives were attempting to politically influence the prosecution by moving their target to Yoon after the controversial resignation of former prosecutor general Chae Dong-wook over an extramarital affair allegation last month.

“This administration has not only forced the prosecutor general who spearheaded the NIS probe to step down but also removed another investigation team leader in an increasingly desperate move,” DP leader Kim Han-gil said during the candlelight rally held at Seoul Plaza Square.

The DP also called for a parliamentary probe as well as establishing an independent counsel team into the Cyber Warfare Command’s alleged election meddling, claiming that not only the NIS but also the military unit was engaged in the online smear campaign.

During a parliamentary audit on Thursday, four command officials admitted that they posted comments on their blogs without saying whether they were ordered to do so or how many others were involved.

The Defense Ministry has claimed that the cyber command members expressed their personal opinions online.

But the case is likely to take center stage in political wrangling this week as the military considers launching an intensive probe, according to sources. The ministry, for the time being, plans to announce an interim report on its preliminary investigation into the case this week.

“With the four command agents admitting to posting politically inclined comments, it is inevitable for the military to initiate a (full-scale) investigation,” a source said on condition of anonymity.

“The probe will be carried out by the military prosecutors or police, or by a joint team of the two,” the source added.

The envisioned probe by the military prosecution is likely to focus on whether the members at the cyber command team were forced to post negative comments by their superiors or their actions were tied with the spy agency also accused of posting negative comments against then-candidate Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party.

The Saenuri Party, meanwhile, countered the attack by calling on the DP to focus more on other contentious issues such as growing public fears over the safety of nuclear reactors and the financially collapsed Tong Yang Group.

“Who would believe that the DP lost the presidential election because of the online comments?” said Saenuri floor leader Choi Kyung-hwan.

“The DP should stop hanging onto (issues involving) the presidential election and play fair with the ruling party on issues more important to the people’s livelihoods,” he added.

The Saenuri Party is reportedly seeking ways to defend the DP’s attack with the confession from the military members in question as the issue is likely to become a new political weapon for progressives.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)