Prosecutors raided South Korea's top office on Wednesday as part of an investigation into claims Cheongwadae illegally collected information about civilians.
The seize and search warrant was in response to a criminal complaint filed by the main opposition Liberty Korea Party... against top presidential officials, including chief of staff Im Jong-seok... and secretary for civil affairs Cho Kuk..., accusing them of power abuse and dereliction of duty.
The accusations are based on a confession from Kim Tae-woo..., a special inspector from the prosecution, who claims to have had illegally surveilled many civilians.
Cheongwadae denies all the allegations.
The Presidential Office grounds are a restricted area, so the investigators were not allowed to physically enter.
But the top offie spokesman said Cheongwadae cooperated fully under related procedures, voluntarily submitting materials that the prosecution requested,... including desktop computers.