Kim Ki-hyun: "The Ruling Party's Unilateral Handling of the National Intelligence Service Act Includes 'Citizen Surveillance' Content"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Kim Ki-hyun, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out that the ruling party's unilateral revision of the National Intelligence Service Act includes provisions for surveilling the public.

On the morning of the 2nd, at the Supreme Council and Senior Members Joint Meeting held at the National Assembly, Rep. Kim stated, "The revised National Intelligence Service Act contains serious harmful provisions that directly threaten human rights."

The part Rep. Kim highlighted is Article 5 (Request for Cooperation from State Agencies, etc.). The current law states that "the head of the National Intelligence Service may request cooperation and support necessary for performing duties from heads of related state agencies and public organizations," but the revised bill expands the scope of entities from which data submission can be requested to include state agencies and other related organizations or groups.

Rep. Kim said, "Furthermore, it has been made a mandatory provision that 'the heads of related state agencies who receive the request must comply unless there is a justifiable reason,' and it explicitly states that National Intelligence Service employees 'may investigate by means such as on-site inspections, document reviews, sample collection, data submission requests, and testimony requests when necessary.' This is an unconstitutional clause that allows state power to arbitrarily and continuously surveil the private information of individual citizens."

He pointed out, "If passed as is, the head of the National Intelligence Service, a core loyalist of the regime, will be able to scrutinize every aspect of an individual's private life under a microscope without even a judge's warrant," adding, "Each citizen exposed naked under the power holders' microscopic surveillance network will have no choice but to tremble in fear of the 'Big Brother.'"

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