South Korea’s military reform risks weakening counterintelligence operations



Analysis South Korea’s military reform risks weakening counterintelligence operations Experts warn that dispersing counterintelligence functions could hinder readiness against DPRK, China and Russia Joon Ha ParkAugust 20, 2025 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at a Cabinet meeting (center), former President Yoon Suk-yeol (left), martial law troops at the National Assembly on Dec. 3, 2024, and former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Lieutenant General Yeo In-hyung (right) \| Image: ROK Presidential Office (Aug. 11, 2025), Lee Jae-myung via Twitter, National Assembly via YouTube (Oct. 8, 2024), edited by Korea Pro The Lee Jae-myung administration’s plan to dismantle the Defense Counterintelligence Command (DCC) risks trading political overreach for operational vulnerability, scattering national security functions just as espionage threats from North Korea, China and Russia intensify. The Presidential Committee on Policy Planning announced on Aug. 13 that the DCC would be dissolved. The decision follows revelations that the command deployed military personnel to the National Assembly to carry out former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s orders to arrest lawmakers following his martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024. The committee cited the need to prevent unconstitutional military involvement in politics and promised to © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01South Korea’s missile defense push raises new questions over wartime stocks 02South Korea bank hacks expose weak links beyond core financial systems 03Lee-Zelensky feud exposes South Korea’s widening Ukraine policy dilemma 04Lee Jae Myung’s ‘pacemaker’ strategy tests South Korea’s leverage with Trump 05Trump’s Korea investment victory lap masks safeguards Seoul still controls 06North Korean POW dispute tests Seoul-Kyiv trust and future Ukraine policy 07South Korea’s CPTPP push exposes the cost of turning trade gains into consensus 08AI storage boom gives South Korea battery makers an EV overcapacity lifeline

Analysis

South Korea’s military reform risks weakening counterintelligence operations

Experts warn that dispersing counterintelligence functions could hinder readiness against DPRK, China and Russia

Joon Ha ParkAugust 20, 2025

South Korea’s military reform risks weakening counterintelligence operations

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at a Cabinet meeting (center), former President Yoon Suk-yeol (left), martial law troops at the National Assembly on Dec. 3, 2024, and former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Lieutenant General Yeo In-hyung (right) | Image: ROK Presidential Office (Aug. 11, 2025), Lee Jae-myung via Twitter, National Assembly via YouTube (Oct. 8, 2024), edited by Korea Pro

The Lee Jae-myung administration’s plan to dismantle the Defense Counterintelligence Command (DCC) risks trading political overreach for operational vulnerability, scattering national security functions just as espionage threats from North Korea, China and Russia intensify.

The Presidential Committee on Policy Planning announced on Aug. 13 that the DCC would be dissolved. The decision follows revelations that the command deployed military personnel to the National Assembly to carry out former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s orders to arrest lawmakers following his martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024.

The committee cited the need to prevent unconstitutional military involvement in politics and promised to

South Korea’s military reform risks weakening counterintelligence operations

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Joon Ha Park