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Ministry of National Defense planning and coordination office director Kim Jeong-seop gives a press briefing regarding the dismantlement of the Defense Security Command (DSC) and its replacement by the “military security support command” at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul on Aug. 6. (Yonhap News)

The unit to take the place of the dismantled Defense Security Command (DSC) is to be called the “Military Security Support Command,” it was recently decided.

The newly created command is to be launched on Sept. 1.

“For the dismantlement of the DSC and the establishment of a new command representing a historic break from the past, we began activities today toward a preparation group for the establishment of the military security support command and submitted advance legislative notice for enactment of the military security support command decree as a new unit order,” Ministry of National Defense planning and coordination office director Kim Jeong-seop said in an Aug. 6 press briefing.

With this move, the DSC will conclude over 27 years of operation since its Jan. 1991 launch, and military intelligence and counterespionage unit capabilities will fall under the military security support command system. The DSC previously underwent a change in its Korean name in Jan. 1991 with a pledge to halt civilian surveillance activities after soldier Yoon Seok-yang blew the whistle in Oct. 1990 on the monitoring of civilians.

Now the same military intelligence and counterespionage unit faces the shame of another rechristening following allegations of political interference and surveillance, including election-influencing internet posts, monitoring civilians associated with the Sewol ferry sinking, and the drafting of documents to prepare for a possible martial law declaration.

Kim Jeong-seop also shared the schedule for pursuit of a presidential decree for the military security support command, which the ministry gave advance legislative notice for on Aug. 6.

“After gathering opinions from the relevant institutions, there will be a Cabinet meeting on Aug. 14, with the promulgation to come immediately afterwards,” he said.

On the timeline for the new command’s establishment, Kim said that “time will be needed for preparations.”

“We are currently preparing with a target establishment date of Sept. 1,” he added.

The ministry’s advance legislative notice that day said the military security support command would be “established under the Minister of National Defense for the performance of duties related to military security, military counterespionage, and the collection and processing of information related to the military.” Basic principles listed for it included “establishing regulations for observance of the law and political neutrality during the performance of duties by command-affiliated soldiers and civilian military.”

In terms of organization, it is to include “one commander, one chief of staff, and one inspection office director, with staff departments and a military security support unit and military security support school affiliated with the command.”

The same day, the ministry shared some of the institutional measures developed as reforms to the command. Chief among them was the inclusion in the military security support command decree of “job performance rules including an obligation to observe political neutrality and prohibitions on the surveillance of civilians and its misuse or abuse, as well as provisions to allow for objections or refusal to comply with orders that violate same.” Another was the establishment of “provisions for the inspection office chief to conduct objective inspections and investigations of violations.”

In particular, the ministry stressed that the position of inspection office chief is to be filled by a civilian military employee (Level 2 or higher), prosecutor, or senior inspection official rather than a currently serving military figure – a measure that clears the way for external controls on the newly created military intelligence and counterespionage organization. Another regulation bars the command from having a staff consisting of 70 percent active-duty soldiers or more.

“The current percentage of active-duty soldiers is around 85 percent, not including medical corps members,” explained a military official. “The aim is to achieve a balance by reducing that percentage and increasing the percentage of civilian military employees.”

At the same time, the newly created military security support command is to carry on DSC functions in ways that undercut the Blue House’s orders for its “dismantlement and reconstruction.” Most notably, the new command’s decree stipulates the same establishment purpose and the same targets and scope for its duties as the DSC before it.

“The military security support command will need to perform the same military intelligence and counterespionage unit functions as the DSC, so nothing has changed in terms of the targets and scope of its duties,” a military official said.

Some are questioning just how different the new military security support command will actually be from the DSC after the introduction of just a few institutional measures such as the introduction of an external inspection office chief system.

A preparation group was launched the same day for the new command’s establishment, with DSC commander Nam Young-shin as its director.

“The preparation group consists of 21 people total in four teams: a planning and supervision team, an organizational team, a human resources management team, and a legal team,” explained Kim Jeong-seop.

“As a special advisor, we plan to have Choi Kang-wook, an attorney who has been active on the DSC reform committee,” Kim added.

By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer

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