Assemblyman Kim Woong Proposes 'Information Police Abolition Act' as First Bill

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 18th, Kim Woong, a member of the People Power Party, proposed a bill to abolish the intelligence police as his first legislative proposal.

On the same day, Representative Kim announced that he had introduced the "Act on the Establishment and Operation of the National Security Intelligence Agency," which abolishes the intelligence police and establishes a separate agency under the Prime Minister's Office responsible for intelligence collection and related affairs, along with four accompanying amendment bills.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The main content of the bill is to significantly reorganize the approximately 3,000 to 4,000 intelligence police officers nationwide and separate them into a distinct organization under the Prime Minister's Office.

Kim's office stated in a press release, "The investigative power of the police is expanding without any control, monopolizing domestic intelligence collection rights, resulting in continuous human rights violations such as surveillance."

According to the proposed bill, employees of the National Security Intelligence Agency will be obligated to maintain political neutrality, fairness, and confidentiality. Public officials from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the National Police Agency cannot be seconded. The head of the agency will be appointed by the President after a parliamentary confirmation hearing, with a two-year term and no possibility of reappointment.

Representative Kim said, "The intelligence police have repeatedly been at the center of surveillance controversies, such as tailing the families of the Sewol ferry victims and interfering in the Ulsan mayoral election," adding, "Passing this law is essential to guarantee the freedom of the people through the decentralization of power institutions."

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