Three new organizations, including the Defense Counterintelligence Headquarters, officially launched on the 3rd to take over the functions of the former Defense Counterintelligence Command following its disbandment.
The three core functions once concentrated in the Counterintelligence Command—counterintelligence, security, and national security investigations—were transferred respectively to the newly established Defense Counterintelligence Headquarters, the Defense Security Support Group, and the National Security Investigation Unit within the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters.
The Ministry of National Defense held an inauguration ceremony at the Defense Counterintelligence Headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, presided over by Minister Ahn Gyu-back on the same day. The Defense Counterintelligence Headquarters uses the facilities of the former Counterintelligence Command and launched anew as an organization specializing in military counterintelligence.
The Ministry of National Defense explained that the Defense Counterintelligence Headquarters will strengthen counterintelligence capabilities against intelligence activities targeting the military by North Korea and foreign countries, as well as terrorist threats, while taking charge of protecting military secrets and supporting security in the defense industry sector. It also plans to pursue new tasks such as supporting maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of U.S. Navy vessels and providing counterintelligence support for major strategic assets.
The Defense Security Support Group is an organization that independently specializes the security functions of the Counterintelligence Command. It exclusively handles internal military security duties, such as central security audits and security incident investigations for units at the corps level or higher, and takes on the mission of maintaining the military's security posture through protecting military secrets and preventing security incidents.
The newly established National Security Investigation Unit within the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters took over the national security investigation function of the Counterintelligence Command. The National Security Investigation Unit will combine the investigative expertise of the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters with the national security investigation capabilities of the Counterintelligence Command to exclusively investigate crimes that threaten national security, such as espionage, leaks of military secrets, and pro-enemy acts.
In addition, the ministry plans to operate a "National Security Investigation Council" involving the Defense Counterintelligence Headquarters, the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters, and the Defense Security Support Group to share intelligence and information related to national security investigations and to maintain a joint response system among relevant agencies.
With this disbandment of the Counterintelligence Command, the power-oriented missions and functions that had sparked controversy—such as monitoring surveys, personnel intelligence gathering, and collection of illegal and corruption-related information—were institutionally abolished.
