State-employed researchers unnerved as gov't launches probe of their foreign contacts
Published: 06 May. 2026, 07:00
![The headquarters of the National Intelligence Service [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/06/f2c22750-f5bb-40a4-919b-259b8a055780.jpg)
The headquarters of the National Intelligence Service [JOONGANG ILBO]
The government is conducting an unprecedented probe into the communications and interactions of all state-employed researchers with foreign nationals, according to multiple sources on Monday.
A total of 27 state-funded research institutes under the prime minister’s purview are subject to the review, which was requested by the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the sources said.
The agency's National Counterintelligence Integration Center requested that the Office for Government Policy Coordination, which reports to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, conduct a full review of all contact between foreign nationals and staff at state-funded research institutes from 2024 to 2025. The probe is aimed at identifying the purpose and frequency of contact with foreigners, the time and place of such encounters and the nationalities and affiliations of those involved.
The institutions whose staff are under review include the Korea Development Institute, the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, the Korea Institute of Public Finance, the Korea Institute for National Unification, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the Korean Educational Development Institute and the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education.
Researchers at state-funded institutes are required to report in writing to their institutions any meetings with certain foreign nationals — including diplomats, journalists and suspected intelligence operatives — under the National Intelligence Service Act and presidential regulations governing counterintelligence. While such contact is, in principle, required to be reported in advance, it is often disclosed afterward.
Periodic audits review whether encounters with foreigners were handled properly. However, in practice, contact with foreign nationals is handled internally.
![Prime Minister Kim Min-seok attends a government meeting in central Seoul on April 29. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/06/a70d7112-5a6d-4432-93c0-896bb9653ed9.jpg)
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok attends a government meeting in central Seoul on April 29. [NEWS1]
This marks the first time the prime minister’s office has conducted a government-wide survey regarding foreign contact across affiliated institutes.
“There was a request seeking coordination from a relevant agency, and [the probe] is carried out in accordance with relevant laws and regulations,” said an official from the prime minister’s office. While the directive was issued by the prime minister’s office, the NIS is effectively in charge, according to the official.
The intelligence agency clarified that the review is routine work.
“The National Counterintelligence Integration Center oversees and handles reports on foreign contact involving relevant personnel under applicable laws and regulations,” the NIS said in response to a query from the JoongAng Ilbo, adding that “the recent request falls within its core counterintelligence functions.”
The effort could also help flag potential foreign agents or industrial espionage risks targeting researchers. Counterintelligence rules allow the NIS director to seek cooperation from government ministries through the National Counterintelligence Integration Center to detect and pre-empt foreign intelligence activities.
“[The probe] reflects the government’s broader priorities to prevent leaks of critical technologies and protect national competitiveness,” a government official said.
![Lee Jong-seok, director of the National Intelligence Service, attends a parliamentary audit held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Nov. 4, 2025. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/06/2912ed3b-444e-43b7-a9c4-00db2a198adc.jpg)
Lee Jong-seok, director of the National Intelligence Service, attends a parliamentary audit held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Nov. 4, 2025. [NEWS1]
The National Counterintelligence Integration Center was launched in December 2020, following the government's abolition of the NIS’s domestic intelligence-gathering function in late 2017. The Center’s authority to gather information is restricted to counterintelligence and counterterrorism.
Still, the scope of the request is unsettling the academic community.
The prime minister’s office said “all employees” are subject to the probe — regardless of the types of hiring contracts and positions. This means more than 10,000 people could fall under review. The Korea Development Institute alone employs 473 people as of the first quarter of this year.
The two-year window includes the period before the inauguration of President Lee Jae Myung, effectively covering one year before and after his predecessor's short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024.
Critics say that the review could discourage necessary international engagement and, in turn, constrain academic freedom. They also warn that detailed accounts of movements associated with such contact could infringe on researchers' right to privacy.
Regulations governing counterintelligence operations prohibit unfair restrictions on contact with foreigners and limit such measures to what is necessary to protect national security.
“Security investigations usually target specific institutions or individuals,” a former senior government official said. “However, the recent one doesn’t, and the time frame is unusually broad. Researchers may reasonably worry that the information could be used in decisions regarding personnel appointments.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE YU-JUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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