(2nd LD) Defense Counterintelligence Command involved in martial law bid to be dismantled

▲ This Nov. 14, 2022, file photo, provided by the defense ministry, shows the entrance of the Defense Counterintelligence Command. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (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)

(2nd LD) military command-reform

(2nd LD) Defense Counterintelligence Command involved in martial law bid to be dismantled

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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.

It 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.

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 its establishment in 1977.

"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 tentatively named the Defense Security Intelligence Agency, 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.

"The focus of the reform was to optimally disperse rights and functions ... so that one specific institution would not excessively exercise its rights," a ministry official said.

Addressing concerns over 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 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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