Photo : YONHAP News / Ministry of National Defense
The government has decided to dissolve the Army’s Defense Counterintelligence Command and delegate its major functions to other agencies after it played a key role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law action in late 2024.
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back announced on Wednesday that the command’s anti-espionage, security inspection and investigation duties will be delegated to other organizations.
A new agency tentatively named the “Defense Counterespionage Headquarters” will take over its anti-espionage, defense industry intelligence and cybersecurity functions.
The defense ministry’s criminal investigation command will handle the investigatory duties and gain authority over combined investigations under martial law, while the security inspection function will be handed over to another new body tentatively named the “Defense Security Support Team.”
Other counterintelligence command functions, such as collecting various personnel information, will be abolished to prevent any organization from wielding absolute power within the military.