Photo : Defense Ministry / Yonhap
The Ministry of National Defense is moving to dismantle the Defense Counterintelligence Command, an agency that played a central role during the 2024 martial law incident, and redistribute its functions by creating new bodies, including a Defense Counterintelligence Headquarters.
According to the ministry’s restructuring proposal submitted Sunday to Rep. Baek Sun‑hee of the Rebuilding Korea Party, the new headquarters will take over counterintelligence, defense‑industry intelligence, counterterrorism, and cybersecurity duties and will be led by either a major general or a senior civilian official.
The plan largely reflects recommendations issued in January by a joint civilian‑government‑military advisory panel but differs in areas such as organizational names, leadership eligibility, and the handling of personnel‑vetting responsibilities.
The Defense Ministry also plans to establish a Defense Security Support Unit to oversee security audits, as well as document, facility, and personnel security, with its chief selected from among brigadier generals or civilian officials.
In addition, the ministry will create a director-general for information security policy, as recommended by the advisory panel, to supervise the two new organizations and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The ministry aims to finalize the restructuring plan and related legislation within the month, complete the legislative process by June, and launch the new organizations in July.