Lead Proposal of the "National Intelligence Service Act Amendment"
Yang Bnam, Member of the National Assembly.
Yang Bnam, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Gwangju Seo-gu-eul), announced on the 7th that he has proposed a revision to the National Intelligence Service Act aimed at regulating indiscriminate surveillance of civilians by the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
The current law stipulates political neutrality as an operating principle to prevent abuse of authority and political misconduct by the NIS. It also includes provisions for punishment to block domestic political intervention. However, there has been ongoing criticism that the NIS continues to surveil civilians and, in effect, intervenes in domestic politics by exploiting the inclusion of "information related to crimes stipulated by the National Security Act and acts of security infringement connected to or suspected of being connected to anti-state organizations" within its information-gathering scope.
In practice, the NIS has surveilled ordinary housewives and tracked the movements and private lives of civic group leaders based solely on its own judgment that they are suspected of being connected to anti-state organizations. This has resulted in serious harm, including lawsuits being filed.
Domestic political intervention by the NIS not only infringes on the fundamental rights of citizens but also involves monitoring and restraining individuals critical of the government. This runs counter to the original purpose of the agency's establishment and directly contradicts the direction of previous amendments to the National Intelligence Service Act.
The proposed amendment removes the phrase "suspected of being connected to," which has been misused as a pretext for domestic political intervention, thereby eliminating the possibility of such involvement. It also includes information-gathering activities that do not meet legal requirements as punishable offenses to ensure effective sanctions.
Yang stated, "Surveilling citizens is an illegal act that does not align with the intent of the National Intelligence Service Act," and added, "Through this legislative revision, I hope the NIS will be reborn solely as an intelligence agency dedicated to protecting the freedom and rights of the people."
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