Cabinet approves decrees to reform military counterintelligence unit

The Cabinet approved five presidential decrees on Tuesday to reform the military counterintelligence unit.

The move comes ahead of plans to dismantle the Defense Counterintelligence Command (DCC), following criticism about its undue political influence.

The unit’s core functions will be dispersed to new and existing bodies under the Ministry of National Defense, marking the command’s dissolution 49 years after its establishment.

The decrees will be promulgated on July 28. Under the restructuring measures, the Defense Ministry plans to officially launch two new bodies under its wing on July 31, the ministry said in a release.

The reform represents a step toward turning the military intelligence into a “democratic organization trusted by the public,” according to the ministry.

Under the decrees, a new body under the ministry will be created to handle counterintelligence, defense industry intelligence and cybersecurity operations.

A separate agency will be established to handle internal security inspections and investigations into security breaches at corps-level or larger units.

The decrees will strip the military of its authority to conduct surveillance and gather personnel intelligence, including background checks on individuals of interest. These covert operations were widely seen as giving the unit undue political influence.

The authority to conduct national security-related investigations will be transferred to the ministry’s existing investigation agency.

Since its establishment in 1977, the DCC has often been criticized for wielding excessive power through its unique roles and has undergone reform efforts under previous administrations.

The command’s involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law imposition on Dec. 3, 2024, reignited calls for reform.

Its former commander is standing trial for allegedly deploying troops to the National Assembly on the night of martial law to arrest opposition lawmakers.

It has also been suspected of sending drones across the border into North Korea two months before the martial law bid, allegedly to provide a pretext for the emergency measure.

Yonhap