Handonghun: "Democratic Party Blocks Spy Law Amendment Changing 'Enemy Country' to 'Foreign Country'... Safety Net Must Be Established"

Han "In Turbulent Times, Foreign and Enemy Countries Are Variable and Relative Concepts"
Joo Ho-young and Jang Kyung-tae Each Propose Amendments to the Anti-Spy Law

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, stated on the 30th that the Spying Act (Article 98 of the Criminal Act) should be amended to expand the scope of espionage charges from "enemy states" to "foreign countries."

On the morning of the same day, Han posted on Facebook a message titled "Who and why blocked the amendment to change 'enemy states' to 'foreign countries' in the Spying Act," revealing that the Democratic Party of Korea had stalled the bill during the 21st National Assembly.

Earlier, about a month ago, the Defense Intelligence Command detected that confidential information such as the identity and personal information of a HUMINT (human intelligence) agent, who was conducting espionage activities through a Chinese national ethnic Korean (Joseonjok), had been leaked. The Defense Intelligence Command handed the case over to the Defense Counterintelligence Command. The Counterintelligence Command conducted investigations including seizure of A’s laptop, mobile phone, and home search, and the military prosecution has requested an arrest warrant for A from the military court.

It is known that not only white agents operating under the tacit approval of diplomats from opposing countries but also black agents disguised as businessmen or other non-governmental identities had their information leaked.

Handonghun, the leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 29th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Han said, "Chinese national ethnic Koreans, etc., leaked confidential files of South Korean intelligence agents," and added, "Such incidents have recently occurred, but absurdly, they cannot be punished under espionage charges in our country because our Spying Act only targets 'enemy states,' specifically North Korea."

He continued, "Everyone, should such acts be severely punished under espionage charges or not? If such incidents happened in countries like China, the United States, Germany, or France, they would naturally be punished with heavy sentences under espionage or even more severe laws."

Han pointed to the Democratic Party as those who blocked the amendment to the Spying Act. He emphasized, "During the 21st National Assembly, four bills were proposed to change 'enemy states' to 'foreign countries' in the Spying Act, three of which were introduced by the Democratic Party (then including Kim Young-joo, Vice Chairman, Hong Ik-pyo, and Lee Sang-heon). However, during the bill review process, the Democratic Party stalled and caused the bills to fail."

He added, "In the rapidly changing global order, the distinction between foreign countries and enemy states is variable and relative," urging, "This time, we must amend the Spying Act to create a minimum legal safety net to protect our citizens and national interests."

Meanwhile, in the 22nd National Assembly, regarding the amendment to change the target enemy states to foreign countries in the Spying Act, Representative Joo Ho-young of the People Power Party introduced the bill on June 21, and on the 4th of this month, Representative Jang Kyung-tae of the Democratic Party also submitted a bill to the National Assembly.

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