(LEAD) Defense ministry to dismantle counterintelligence command involved in martial law bid

▲ This composite photo shows the changed names and logos for the Defense Counterintelligence Command. (Yonhap)

▲ This Sept. 30, 2025, file photo, provided by the defense ministry, shows Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back (3rd from L) posing with members of a special advisory committee in Seoul on reforming the military in the aftermath of the failed martial law bid in December 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) military command-reform

(LEAD) Defense ministry to dismantle counterintelligence command involved in martial law bid

(ATTN: ADDS details, photo; REWRITES lead; RESTRUCTURES)

By Lee Minji

SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Yonhap) -- The defense ministry will seek to disband the Defense Counterintelligence Command embroiled in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's 2024 botched martial law bid, officials said Thursday, in what would mark the command's dissolution after 49 years upon completion.

The command is suspected of having played a key role in Yoon's short-lived martial law imposition in December 2024, with its former commander standing trial for allegedly deploying troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission on the night of the martial law attempt.

While the command tasked with counterintelligence activities has been renamed several times under different governments amid criticism over its influential role, it marks the first time the command will be dismantled since it was established in 1977 as a unit integrating counterintelligence activities of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

"We have advised the constructive dismantling of the Defense Counterintelligence Command and transferring or removing its existing functions, such as security investigation, counterintelligence and security audit," Hong Hyun-ik, the chief of a special committee tasked with reforming the command, said in a briefing.

The committee, comprising military, government and civilian officials, advised the military to establish a new organization specialized in securing counterintelligence, counterterrorism and arms industry intelligence, Hong said.

The plan comes as the defense ministry has been seeking to rebuild the military following the martial law bid that has led to the removal of senior military leaders from office, including the former chiefs of the counterintelligence command as well as the defense intelligence command and capital defense command.

In a report submitted to lawmakers last year, the ministry said the counterintelligence command holds "excessive" rights ranging from securing intelligence to investigation, saying its functions should be adjusted so that it only specializes in counterintelligence activities.

Alongside deploying troops on the night of the martial law imposition, the command is also suspected of organizing troops to detain around 10 key politicians, including the then leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties as well as the National Assembly speaker.

As part of the reform, the committee called for installing a separate unit tasked with personnel verification, while transferring the command's investigative functions to the ministry's existing investigative headquarters. The committee recommended that contested functions, such as collecting information on military personnel and trends, should be scrapped.

To prevent possible lapses that could occur in the process of dispersing the functions across different units, the committee called for the establishment of a cooperative body to share relevant information.

"The reform of the Defense Counterintelligence Command should be conducted in a direction that strengthens counterintelligence and security functions that are pivotal to national security, while ensuring democratic control and constitutional values," Hong said.

The defense ministry said it plans to draw up detailed measures to carry out suggestions made by the special committee and take necessary legal and organizational steps in phases to complete the reform before the end of the year.

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