Domestic espionage law revision stalls while ruling and opposition parties blame each other

[Anchor]

Our country also has a law against espionage.

However, the scope is very narrow.

It can only punish anti-state intelligence activities on behalf of North Korea.

Therefore, there is already a proposed amendment in the political arena to expand the application scope from North Korea to foreign countries.

However, discussions are progressing very slowly.

Woo Jeong-hwa reports.

[Report]

In August, a military employee belonging to the Korea Defense Intelligence Command was arrested and indicted for leaking classified military information of levels 2 and 3 to a Chinese national.

It was a serious act that could threaten national security, but the espionage law could not be applied.

Under current law, the espionage law only applies to anti-state intelligence activities for an enemy country, namely North Korea, and can only be applied if a connection to North Korea is confirmed.

In response, the political arena has been pushing for an amendment to change the scope of the espionage law from 'enemy country' limited to North Korea to 'foreign countries' to broaden its application.

[Han Dong-hoon/Leader of the People Power Party: "There is no reason not to do so for the espionage law. It shows what kind of philosophy and position we have in the world order."]

There are 18 proposed amendments related to the espionage law submitted to this National Assembly, but the related standing committee, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, has not even been able to review the bill due to political strife.

The People Power Party stated that the Democratic Party has been obstructing the passage of the espionage law amendment.

[Han Dong-hoon/Leader of the People Power Party/Aug. 1: "You keep saying you didn't oppose, but the fact is that the Democratic Party showed a cautious attitude, which is why this espionage law did not pass in the last National Assembly."]

The opposition party, on the other hand, blamed the failure on the opposition from the court administration during Han Dong-hoon's tenure as Minister of Justice.

[Park Chan-dae/Leader of the Democratic Party/Aug. 1: "He said, 'The Democratic Party opposed the amendment of the espionage law, making it difficult to punish.' This is an absurd lie and a ridiculous excuse that obscures the essence."]

Furthermore, the People Power Party argues that the anti-communist investigation authority transferred to the police should be returned to the National Intelligence Service, while the Democratic Party is determined to abolish even the anti-communist inquiry authority held by the National Intelligence Service in this opportunity.

This is KBS News, Woo Jeong-hwa.