Governor An's Title Change "Collecting External Opinions"

On the morning of the 1st, the guard post mark at the main gate of the Military Security Support Command in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province was changed from the old Armed Forces Security Command mark to the current mark. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Military Security Support Command (Security Support Command) is forming a task force (TF) to review measures to strengthen security and counterintelligence operations. Amid ongoing military-related investigations such as the 'West Sea Civilian Murder Incident' and the 'Repatriation of North Korean Fishermen Incident' under the current government, it is being evaluated that military units have also begun actively erasing the 'Moon Jae-in government' imprint.

According to the military on the 2nd, the Security Support Command has been operating the TF since June and is reviewing the unit's missions and functions comprehensively while also examining the necessity to expand tasks in the security and counterintelligence fields.

The Security Support Command was launched in 2019 by disbanding the Republic of Korea Military Security Command, reducing its personnel from about 4,200 during the Security Command era to about 2,900, a cut of over 30%, and strictly limiting its scope of duties.

As evaluations suggest that the capabilities of the Security Support Command have weakened due to this, the military is reportedly considering reassigning previously abolished tasks such as surprise security inspections of frontline units back to the Security Support Command.

The Security Support Command is the successor to the Republic of Korea Military Security Command. It was established after the disbandment of the Security Command in 2018 amid controversies over the martial law execution plan. Personnel numbers decreased from about 4,200 to around 2,900, and responsibilities and functions were reduced. The current government perceives that the downsizing of the organization has rather made the security and counterintelligence sectors more vulnerable.

The Security Support Command is also pushing for a change in its unit name. This is due to concerns that the term 'Support' in the current name may cause misunderstandings about the nature and mission of the institution. It has been four years since its establishment following the disbandment of the Military Security Command.

However, even if the name and organization are changed, it is expected to be difficult to increase personnel again. The government is undertaking a large-scale organizational diagnosis and a 'Integrated Quota System' that reduces and reallocates 1% of civil servant quotas per department to streamline the military, making it challenging to expand the scale. There is also analysis that increasing field personnel for intelligence gathering will be difficult.

A military official said, "We are reviewing revising the unit name to reflect the unit's identity and the characteristics of a specialized security and counterintelligence institution."