Strengthening Control vs Immediate Abolition... Heated Controversy Over Information Police

Police: "Legislation to Promote Activity Scope and Punishment Regulations"
Civil Society Concerns Over Recurrence of Harm
"Separate Function Unnecessary"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The 'intelligence police,' which have caused controversy due to political involvement and civilian surveillance, are once again at the center of debate regarding how they should be reformed amid the overhaul of power institutions. In the recent power institution reform plan announced by the ruling party, government, and Blue House, the reform of the intelligence police was excluded, while the police are pushing for legislation to strengthen control over the intelligence police. On the other hand, some civic groups are demanding the immediate abolition of the intelligence police and the transfer of their functions.

The intelligence police refer to officers working in the National Police Agency’s Intelligence Bureau, as well as intelligence units within local police agencies and police stations. Their duties include collecting information on crime, risks to public safety and national security, maintaining order and safety during assemblies and demonstrations, and conducting background checks. To carry out these tasks, the intelligence police have historically accessed public institutions and private organizations on a regular basis to gather and report information.

However, demands for abolition grew as issues of political involvement and surveillance by the intelligence police surfaced under past governments. During the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, numerous documents suggesting the intelligence police’s interference in elections and surveillance of civilians were discovered, and a former National Police Agency chief was even detained.

The police maintain that despite various problems, the intelligence police cannot be abolished and that democratic control should be strengthened. In fact, the police have reduced the intelligence police personnel by about 16% from around 3,500 officers. Additionally, in January last year, they established the 'Intelligence Police Activity Rules,' which prohibit regular access by political parties, civic groups, and the media to intelligence police activities. At a recent press briefing, Kim Chang-ryong, the new National Police Agency chief, stated, "I believe internal reforms to ensure the intelligence police can faithfully perform their core roles have almost been completed," and added, "We will clearly define the concept and scope of intelligence police activities in law and codify penalties for exceeding those limits."

However, voices calling for the abolition of the intelligence police rather than mere reform are also strong. They argue that as long as the intelligence police monopolize 'information supply' to the Blue House, abuses will inevitably recur. This issue was also raised at a recent intelligence police reform forum co-hosted by Hwang Un-ha, a Democratic Party lawmaker and former police officer, and Lee Eun-joo of the Justice Party. Lawyer Yang Hong-seok, an executive member of the Public Interest Law Center at People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, stated, "Personnel verification can be transferred to the Ministry of Personnel Management, and assemblies and demonstrations can be handled by other police departments such as security," and argued, "Police intelligence activities should be limited to the intelligence activities of each function, and there is no need to recognize 'intelligence' as a separate function."

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