South Korea's Defense Counterintelligence Command, which wielded extensive powers spanning counterintelligence, security, investigations and background checks, will be disbanded after 49 years of operation.
The command has survived past political controversies by changing its name while retaining its core functions, but will now fade into history following the martial law crisis. Its security investigation function will be transferred to the Defense Ministry's Investigation Headquarters, a military police unit. Counterintelligence and security audit functions will move to newly established agencies under the Defense Ministry: the Defense Security Intelligence Agency and the Central Security Audit Corps, both tentative names. Personnel intelligence and surveillance functions will be abolished entirely.
The Counterintelligence and Security Restructuring Subcommittee of the Civilian-Government-Military Joint Special Advisory Committee announced Thursday that it had recommended this disbandment plan to Defense Minister Ahn Kyu-baek.
The command has long been criticized as a power institution due to its broad authority encompassing security investigations, counterintelligence, security audits and surveillance activities. During the December 3 martial law incident, it was revealed to have played a central role, deploying troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission and operating arrest teams targeting politicians.
"We decided to transfer the security investigation function to the Defense Ministry's Investigation Headquarters to address the problem of concentrated intelligence and investigative powers," Hong Hyun-ik, the subcommittee chairman, said at a press briefing. "For counterintelligence functions, we will establish a specialized agency, tentatively named the Defense Security Intelligence Agency, to handle intelligence activities related to counterintelligence, defense industry and counter-terrorism, as well as defense industry and cybersecurity missions."
"For security audit functions, we will establish a specialized agency, tentatively named the Central Security Audit Corps, to perform central security audits, background checks and support for general officer personnel verification," Hong added. "Functions that have long been criticized, such as personnel intelligence, reputation gathering and surveillance, will be completely abolished."
The subcommittee also recommended limiting the Central Security Audit Corps' security audit jurisdiction to Army, Navy and Air Force headquarters and operational command-level units or higher, transferring general security audit authority over corps-level and lower units to each service branch. Additionally, for general officer personnel verification support, the Central Security Audit Corps will only collect basic materials under the command and control of the Defense Ministry Inspector General's Office.
The subcommittee further recommended strengthening internal and external control mechanisms to enable democratic oversight of the newly established counterintelligence and security agencies. The Defense Ministry said it plans to develop detailed organizational structures based on the subcommittee's recommendations and proceed with phased restructuring of the command, including legal and institutional reforms and unit planning, with a target of completion within this year.
President Lee Jae-myung had previously proposed "military intelligence agency (Defense Counterintelligence Command) reform" as a campaign pledge during the presidential election. The advisory committee, launched in late September last year, announced the specific disbandment plan Thursday following months of deliberation.