[Exclusive] Lee Jaemyung and Ahn Kyubaek Accused of General Crime of Aiding the Enemy Over Abolition of Defense Counterintelligence Command

Committee Files Complaint with Seoul Police, Citing "Threat to National Security"

Defense Counterintelligence Command to Be Disbanded After 49 Years, Personnel Also Reduced

A civic group has filed a police complaint against President Lee Jaemyung and Ahn Kyu-baek, Minister of National Defense, accusing them of undermining national security over a defense policy that dismantles the Defense Counterintelligence Command and restructures security functions for the first time in 49 years.

The People's Livelihood Countermeasures Committee (hereafter referred to as the Committee) announced on the 30th that it had filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, accusing President Lee and Minister Ahn as joint offenders of abuse of authority, dereliction of duty, and coercion. The complaint also specifies the general crime of aiding the enemy, citing concerns that the restructuring of counterintelligence functions and military organization reform could undermine national security.

Ahn Kyu-baek, Minister of National Defense. The Asia Business Daily DB

In its complaint, the Committee stated, "Not only are North and South Korea in confrontation, but the international situation is also unstable, with China emerging as a new security threat." The Committee argued that "despite this reality, the dismantling of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, decentralization of security investigations, counterintelligence information, and security audit functions, and the abolition of personnel intelligence and trend investigation functions constitute the general crime of aiding the enemy."

Additionally, the Committee labeled as "inappropriate acts" the following: an average 2-kilometer northward shift and a 6-kilometer reduction of the civilian control line, the lifting of military restrictions in border areas, outsourcing military guard duties to private security firms, and the hasty merger of the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies. The Committee pointed out, "These actions not only threaten the safety of the people but also endanger national security and undermine trust in the South Korea-U.S. alliance."

This complaint comes against the backdrop of controversy over "undermining security" that has emerged as the Ministry of National Defense reforms counterintelligence functions following the inauguration of the Lee Jaemyung administration. On June 10, the Ministry of National Defense officially announced the dismantling of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, citing the need to streamline military organizations and overhaul counterintelligence functions. This marks the first change in 49 years since the establishment of the National Security Command, the predecessor of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, in 1977.

Counterintelligence and defense industry-related intelligence activities, as well as cyber security work, will be transferred to the Defense Counterintelligence Headquarters, which is scheduled to be established at the end of next month. The Defense Security Support Group, which will be responsible for central security audits and security incident investigations at the corps level and above, will also be launched as a separate body. Through this reorganization, one-third of the Defense Counterintelligence Command's personnel will be reduced. About half of the current staff will be assigned to the Defense Counterintelligence Headquarters, and approximately 200 personnel engaged in security investigations will be moved to the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters. The number of general officers in the Defense Counterintelligence Command, which previously included seven (including the commander), will be significantly reduced to three.

The opposition and some conservative groups have strongly objected, arguing that these changes could weaken military readiness. The controversy surrounding defense policy continues, as evidenced by the recent posting of a petition for the impeachment of Minister Ahn on the National Assembly's public consent petition board.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.