Amendment to the National Intelligence Service Act Passed in Plenary Session... Transfer of Counterintelligence Investigation Authority to Police

Park Hyung-su, a member of the People Power Party, is conducting an unlimited debate on the National Intelligence Service's complete revision bill at the National Assembly plenary session on the 13th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] The 'National Intelligence Service Act Amendment,' which transfers the National Intelligence Service's counterintelligence investigation authority to the police, passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 13th.

With this, the ruling party's three major power institution reform legislations have been completed. The amendments to the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office Act (HCIO Act) and the Police Act passed the plenary session last week.

The National Assembly held a plenary session that evening and approved the amendment to the National Intelligence Service Act with 187 votes in favor out of 187 members present.

The amendment transfers the National Intelligence Service's counterintelligence investigation authority to the police but sets a three-year grace period. It also removes ambiguous concepts such as domestic security information and counterintelligence from the scope of the National Intelligence Service's duties.

The People Power Party's filibuster (unlimited opposition debate), which began on the 10th in protest against the amendment, ended.

With 180 votes in favor, 3 against, and 3 invalid, the vote barely met the required quorum to forcibly end the filibuster (three-fifths of the total members, 180 seats).

In addition to the Democratic Party, which holds a majority with 174 seats, the Open Democratic Party and ruling party-leaning independent lawmakers joined.

The People Power Party and the Justice Party did not participate in the vote.

This is the first time since the introduction of the National Assembly Innovation Act in 2012 that a filibuster has been ended by a vote.

Immediately after the approval of the National Intelligence Service Act amendment, the People Power Party began a filibuster on the next agenda, the Act on the Prohibition of Leaflet Distribution to North Korea (Amendment to the Inter-Korean Relations Development Act).

The Democratic Party promptly submitted a motion to end the debate. Accordingly, another vote to end the debate will be held 24 hours later, on the evening of the 14th.

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