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Encyclopedia > National Intelligence Service (South Korea)
National Intelligence Service Seal of the National Intelligence Service
Hangul:
국가정보원
Hanja:
國家情報院
Revised Romanization: Gukga Jeongbowon
McCune-Reischauer: Kukka Chŏngbowŏn

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) is the chief intelligence agency of South Korea. The agency was officially established in 1961 as the Korea Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) (중앙정보부), during the rule of President Park Chung-hee's military Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, which displaced the Second Republic of South Korea. The original duties of the KCIA were to supervise and coordinate both international and domestic intelligence activities and criminal investigation by all government intelligence agencies, including that of the military. The agency's broad powers allowed it to actively intervene in politics. Image File history File links SK-NIS.jpg‎ Seal of the South Korean National Intelligence Service. ... For other uses, see Hangul (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Sino-Korean be merged into this article or section. ... The Revised Romanization of Korean (Korean: 국어의 로마자 표기법; 國語의 로마字 表記法) is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. ... McCune-Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced (a modified) McCune-Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000. ... An intelligence agency is a governmental organization devoted to gathering of information by means of espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public sources. ... Park Chung-hee (September 30, 1917 - October 26, 1979) was President of South Korea from 1961 to 1979. ... The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, initially named the Revolutionary Committee, was a group of Korean officials. ... The Second Republic of South Korea was the government of South Korea for eight months in 1960 and 1961. ... Politics of South Korea takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ...


The agency took on the name Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP) (국가안전기획부) in 1981, as part of a series of reforms instituted by the Fifth Republic of South Korea under President Chun Doo-hwan. Besides trying to acquire intelligence on North Korea and suppress South Korean activists, the ANSP, like its predecessor, was heavily involved in activities outside of its sphere, including domestic politics and even promoting the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul. The Fifth Republic of South Korea was the government of the country from 1979 to 1987. ... Chun Doo-hwan (Korean hangul: 전두환; hanja: 全斗煥; revised: Jeon Duhwan; McCune-Reischauer: Chŏn Tuhwan; born 18 January 1931) was a Korean military officer and the President of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. ... (Redirected from 1988 Summer Olympic Games) The Games of the XXIV Olympiad were held in 1988 in South Korea. ... Seoul (Sŏul[1] 서울)   is the capital and largest city of South Korea (Republic of Korea). ...


In 1999, the agency assumed its current name. The advent of democracy in the Sixth Republic of South Korea has seen many of the duties and powers of the NIS curtailed, in response to public criticisms about past abuses. The Sixth Republic of South Korea is the countrys present-day government. ...

Contents

Korean Central Intelligence Agency

The agency's origins can be traced back to the Korean Counterintelligence Corps (KCIC), formed under the auspices of the U.S. Army's Counter Intelligence Corps during the Korean War. The KCIA was founded on June 13, 1961 by Kim Jong-pil, who drew much of the organization's initial 3,000-strong membership from the KCIC. Kim, a Korean Military Academy graduate and nephew of Park Chung-hee by marriage, is also credited for masterminding the 1961 coup d'etat that installed Park as dictator for the next eighteen years. The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... The History of the Counter Intelligence Corps was a classified 30 volume book prepared in the late 1950s by Maj. ... Combatants United Nations: Republic of Korea  Australia  Belgium Canada  Colombia Ethiopia  France Greece  Netherlands  New Zealand  Philippines South Africa  Thailand  Turkey  United Kingdom United States Medical staff:  Denmark  India  Italy  Norway  Sweden Communist states: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea People’s Republic of China  Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee... June 13 is the 164th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (165th in leap years), with 201 days remaining. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Kim Jong-pil is a South Korean politician and founder of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (the KCIA, now the National Intelligence Service), who served as Prime Minister twice, from 1971-1975 and from 1998-2000. ... Park Chung-hee (September 30, 1917 - October 26, 1979) was President of South Korea from 1961 to 1979. ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ...


The intelligence service was extensively used by President Park's government to suppress and disrupt anti-government or pro-North Korean (in which pro-communist was included) movements, including the widespread student protests on university campuses and the activities of overseas Koreans. The KCIA developed a reputation for interfering in domestic politics and international affairs that were beyond its jurisdiction. The KCIA's original charter, Act Concerning Protection of Military Secrets, was designed to oversee the coordination of activities related to counterespionage and national security, but a majority of its activities and budget were devoted to things unrelated to its original charter. North Korea, officially the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK; Korean: Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk; Hangul: 조선민주주의인민공화국; Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國), is a country in eastern Asia...


For example, in 1968, KCIA agents kidnapped several Koreans living abroad in West Germany. They were transported back to Seoul, where they were brought up on charges of having violated the National Security Law by engaging in pro-Northern activities.[citation needed] The victims became a cause celebre as the kidnapping created a windstorm of international criticism that almost brought the Bonn government to break off diplomatic relations with South Korea. It further served as a harbinger of things to come, when the much-publicized kidnapping of a dissident, Kim Dae-jung -- who would later become the president of Korea and the country's first Nobel Peace Prize Winner in 2000 -- took place in 1973 off the coast of a Japanese resort town.


The KCIA's virtually unlimited and completely unchecked power to arrest and detain any person on any charge, created a climate of extreme fear and repression. The frequent detention and torture of students, dissidents, opposition figures, communists, reporters, or anyone perceived to be critical of the government, was symptomatic of the Park presidency and the subsequent administration. And in another departure from its original charter, the KCIA's assumptive role as political machine extraordinaire began to take on even more bizarre forms such as exercising a free hand in drafting the South Korean constitution, dominating the country's political life, and acting as a political fundraiser for the incumbent party. A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively opposes an established opinion, policy, or structure. ... A television reporter A reporter is a type of journalist who researches and presents information in certain types of mass media. ... The Constitution of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) is its basic law. ...


In addition to its presumptive intelligence and secret police role, which was ostensibly authorized by its original charter, it also became, by default, through a network of agents at home and abroad, the de facto attorney general and inspector general of the South Korean government. // Secret police (sometimes political police) are a police organization which operates in secrecy for the national purpose of maintaining national security against internal threats to the state. ... In most common law jurisdictions, the Attorney General is the main legal adviser to the government, and in some jurisdictions may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions. ... Inspector General is a fact finding officer whose responsibility is to investigate charges of corruption, fraud, waste and abuse and other complaints regarding government officials. ...


The KCIA is known to have raised funds through extortion and stock market manipulation, which were in turn used to bribe and cajole companies, individuals, and even foreign governments, as did happen during the Koreagate scandal on Capitol Hill in 1976. Domestically, the KCIA made itself the philanthropical arm of the government by being an avid supporter of the arts, promoter of tourism, and purveyor of national culture. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was alleged to have supported the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, at one point providing an officer to serve as an interpreter for Moon. Investigations by Congressman Donald M. Fraser found the KCIA to have funnelled bribes and favors through Korean businessman Tongsun Park in an attempt to gain favor and influence in Washington, D.C.; some 115 Members of Congress were implicated in what became known as the Koreagate scandal. [1] Extortion is a criminal offense, which occurs when a person obtains money, behaviour, or other goods and/or services from another by wrongfully threatening or inflicting harm to this person, reputation, or property. ... The New York Stock Exchange A stock market is a market for the trading of company stock, and derivatives of same; both of these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately. ... Bribery is a crime implying a sum or gift given alters the behaviour of the person in ways not consistent with the duties of that person. ... Philanthropy is the act of donating money, goods, time, or effort to support a charitable cause, usually over an extended period of time and in regard to a defined objective. ... Fine art is a term used to refer to fields traditionally considered to be artistic. ... Sun Myung Moon in 2005. ... The Unification Church is a new religious movement started by Sun Myung Moon in Korea in the 1940s. ... An interpreter is a practitioner of interpreting, an activity that consists of establishing, either simultaneously or consecutively, oral or gestural communications between two or more speakers who are not speaking (or signing) the same language. ... Donald Mackay Fraser (born February 20, 1924) is an American politician from Minneapolis, Minnesota. ... Tongsun Park was a figure in the Koreagate scandal of the 1970s with a reputation as the Asian Great Gatsby, a socialite who charmed congressmen with his Washington dinner parties and cash payments. ... Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: Federal District District of Columbia Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) City Council Chairperson: Linda W. Cropp (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D) Ward 2: Jack Evans... A Congressman or Congresswoman (generically, Congressperson) is a politician who is a member of a Congress. ... Koreagate was an American political scandal in 1976 involving South Koreans seeking influence with members of Congress. ...


Agency for National Security Planning

In 1979, Kim Jae-kyu, the agency's director of many years, assassinated President Park Chung Hee; in the aftermath, the KCIA was purged and temporarily lost much of its power. The new director, Chun Doo-hwan, used his tenure from April to July 1980 to expand his power base beyond the military. The organization was renamed the Agency for National Security Planning in 1981, and its powers were redefined in presidential orders and legislation. The ANSP, like its predecessor, was a cabinet-level agency directly accountable to the president. The director of the ANSP continued to have direct presidential access. In March 1981, the ANSP was redesignated as the principal agency for collecting and processing all intelligence. The requirement for all other agencies with intelligence-gathering and analysis functions in their charters to coordinate their activities with the ANSP was reaffirmed. Kim Jae-kyu (March 6, 1926–May 24, 1980) was a South Korean military and intelligence officer. ... This is a list of past Directors General of the National Intelligence Service of South Korea and its predecessor organizations, the Korean Central Intelligence Agency and the Agency for National Security Planning. ... Park Chung-hee (November 14, 1917 – October 26, 1979) was the president of Republic of Korea from 1961 to 1979. ... ... Chun Doo-hwan (Korean hangul: 전두환; hanja: 全斗煥; revised: Jeon Duhwan; McCune-Reischauer: Chŏn Tuhwan; born 18 January 1931) was a Korean military officer and the President of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ... The President is head of state of South Korea. ...


Legislation passed at the end of 1981 further redefined the ANSP's legally mandated functions to include the collection, compilation, and distribution of foreign and domestic information regarding public safety against communists and plots to overthrow the government. The maintenance of public safety with regard to documents, materials, facilities, and districts designated as secrets of the state was the purview of the ANSP, as was the investigation of crimes of insurrection and foreign aggression, crimes of rebellion, aiding and abetting the enemy, disclosure of military secrets, and crimes provided for in the Act Concerning Protection of Military Secrets and the National Security Act. The investigation of crimes related to duties of intelligence personnel, the supervision of information collection, and the compilation and distribution of information on other agencies' activities designed to maintain public safety also were undertaken by the ANSP. By 1983 the ANSP had rebounded and again was the preeminent foreign and domestic intelligence organization. This article is about communism as a form of society, as an ideology advocating that form of society, and as a popular movement. ... Classified information is information to which access is restricted by law or corporate rules to particular hierarchical classes of people. ... Insurrection could refer to: * in a general sense, it means Rebellion * it is also a title of a Star Trek film, see Star Trek: Insurrection ... The National Security Act (국가보안법) is a law in South Korea stating that it is Based on the Law for Maintenance of the Public Security of the Japanese occupation of Korea, it was passed in 1948, and made communism and the recognition of North Korea as a political entity both illegal. ...


Nevertheless, the ANSP's domestic powers were indeed curtailed under the Sixth Republic. Prior to the change, the ANSP had free access to all government offices and files. The ANSP, Defense Security Command, Office of the Prosecutor General, Korean National Police, and the Ministry of Justice had stationed their agents in the National Assembly of Korea to collect information on the activities of politicians. In May 1988, however, overt ANSP agents, along with agents of other intelligence agencies, were withdrawn from the National Assembly building. The ANSP's budget was not made public, nor apparently was it made available in any useful manner to the National Assembly in closed sessions. In July 1989, pressured by opposition parties and public opinion, the ANSP was subjected to inspection and audit by the National Assembly for the first time in eighteen years. The ANSP removed its agents from the chambers of the Seoul Criminal Court and the Supreme Court in 1988. In another move to limit the potential for the ANSP to engage in "intelligence politics," the ANSP Information Coordination Committee was disbanded because of its history of unduly influencing other investigating authorities, such as the Office of the Prosecutor General. Additionally, the ANSP, responding to widespread criticism of its alleged human rights violations, set up a "watchdog" office to supervise its domestic investigations and to prevent agents from abusing their powers while interrogating suspects. The Sixth Republic of South Korea is the countrys present-day government. ... The Justice Minister is a cabinet position in a government. ... Espionage is the practice of obtaining information about an organization or a society that is considered secret or confidential (spying) without the permission of the holder of the information. ... The National Assembly (Hangul: 국회; Hanja: 國會; Revised: Gukhoe; McCune-Reischauer: Kukoe) is the parliament of South Korea. ... Budget generally refers to a list of all planned expenses and revenues. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The supreme court in some countries, provinces, and states, functions as a court of last resort whose rulings cannot be challenged. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... A watchdog originally referred to a dogs job, but now has been used in additional contexts with the same implication of watching or safeguarding: For the dogs job, see guard dog. ...


The ANSP remained deeply involved in domestic politics, however, and was not fully prepared to relinquish its power. In April 1990, for example, ruling Democratic Liberal Party (DLP) coleader Kim Young-sam complained that he and members of his faction within the DLP had been subjected to "intelligence maneuvering in politics" that included wiretapping, surveillance, and financial investigations. Despite an agreement in September 1989 by the chief policymakers of the ruling and opposition parties to strip the ANSP of its power to investigate pro-North Korean activity (a crime under the National Security Act), the ANSP continued enforcing this aspect of the law rather than limiting itself to countering internal and external attempts to overthrow the government. The ANSP continued to pick up radical student and dissident leaders for questioning without explanation. Liberal Democratic Party or Democratic Liberal Party is the name of dozens of political parties around the world. ... Kim Young-sam (born December 20, 1927 in Geoje, South Gyeongsang) was the President of the Republic of Korea from February 25, 1993 to February 25, 1998. ... Telephone tapping or Wire tapping/ Wiretapping (in US) describes the monitoring of telephone conversations by a third party, often by covert means. ... Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Security Act (국가보안법) is a law in South Korea stating that it is Based on the Law for Maintenance of the Public Security of the Japanese occupation of Korea, it was passed in 1948, and made communism and the recognition of North Korea as a political entity both illegal. ...


Aside from its controversial internal security mission, the ANSP also was known for its foreign intelligence gathering and analysis and for its investigation of offenses involving external subversion and military secrets. The National Unification Board and the ANSP (and the KCIA before it) were the primary sources of government analysis and policy direction for South Korea's reunification strategy and contacts with North Korea. The intelligence service's pursuit of counterespionage cases was also held in high regard. Unification Flag of Korea Korean reunification is the possible future unification of North Korea and South Korea under a single government. ... Espionage operations intended to identify enemy spies. ...


Contemporary history

In 1994, the ANSP had a significant revision of its charter, which effectively limited its activities, following an agreement between Korea's ruling and opposition parties. As a result, an "Information Committee" in the National Assembly was established to lay a foundation for the agency's removal from the political scene and an assumption of political neutrality. The ANSP also began to develop procedures and mechanisms to thwart international crime and terrorism. In 1995, the ANSP moved to a new headquarters site in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul, from its previous location on Namsan mountain, in Imun-dong, where it had been located for the past 34 years. In 1999, it was officially renamed the National Intelligence Service. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... The National Assembly (Hangul: 국회; Hanja: 國會; Revised: Gukhoe; McCune-Reischauer: Kukoe) is the parliament of South Korea. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Seoul (Sŏul[1] 서울)   is the capital and largest city of South Korea (Republic of Korea). ... Namsan with Seoul Tower. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...


Most specifics regarding the agency's organizational makeup remain classified by the Seoul government. An 1998 investigation by the Sisa Journal into the structure of the agency (then the ANSP) estimated that it employed some 60,000 employees across 39 headquarters- and regionally-based departments, spending an estimated 700-800 billion South Korean won per year. [2] According to its official publications, the NIS is divided into three directorates: International affairs, Domestic affairs, and North Korean affairs. Its current officially stated mission assigns the NIS responsibility for the: Classified information is secret information to which access is restricted by law or corporate rules to a particular hierarchical class of people. ... Seoul (Sŏul[1] 서울)   is the capital and largest city of South Korea (Republic of Korea). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... ISO 4217 Code KRW User(s) Republic of Korea Inflation 2. ...

  • Collection, coordination, and distribution of information on the nation's strategy and security
  • Maintenance of documents, materials, and facilities related to the nation's classified information
  • Investigation of crimes affecting national security, such as the Military Secrecy Protection Law, the National Security Law.'
  • Investigation of crimes related to the missions of NIS staff
  • Planning and coordination of information and classified

The election of Roh Moo-hyun to the South Korean presidency in 2003 brought more concerted efforts to reform the agency. Roh appointed Ko Young-koo, a former human rights lawyer, to the position of director, expressing a desire to find "someone who will set the agency straight". The anti-communist bureau of the agency was slated to be eliminated, and many domestic intelligence and surveillance activities were either abandoned or transferred to national police forces. [3] THE "Elizabeth Farrell"-Joanna Moone case NIS agent using the name "Elizabeth Farrell" real name believed to be Joanna Moone(or Moon or Mun)-real nationality unknown possibly Dutch or Irish but known to have ROK passport infiltrated the New Communist Party of Great Britain and the 'Korea Friendship and Solidarity Campaign' in order to carry operations against the pro DPRK left in the UK and against the DPRK Embassy.Farrell/Moone also carried operations against the DPRK in Serbia and Bulgaria.Farrell?Moone was paid £400 per week for her services and visited Seoul several timesMoone also believed to be involved in theft and fraud.Some people believe her to be in Seoul Roh Moo-hyun (born September 1, 1946 in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang) (IPA: ) has been the President of South Korea since February 25, 2003. ... The President is head of state of South Korea. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... English barrister 16th century painting of a civil law notary, by Flemish painter Quentin Massys. ... This is a list of past Directors General of the National Intelligence Service of South Korea and its predecessor organizations, the Korean Central Intelligence Agency and the Agency for National Security Planning. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ...


See also

This is a list of past Directors General of the National Intelligence Service of South Korea and its predecessor organizations, the Korean Central Intelligence Agency and the Agency for National Security Planning. ... Politics of South Korea takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... This is a list of historical secret police organizations. ... This is a list of Wikipedia articles on Korea-related people, places, things, and concepts. ...

References

The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress ( USA), freely available for use by researchers. ... The U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789 by a constitutional convention, sets down the basic framework of American government in its seven articles. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Japan Policy Research Institute (JPRI) is a non-profit organization organized under §501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code that was founded in 1994 by Chalmers Johnson and Steven C. Clemons in order to promote public education about Japan, its then growing significance in world affairs...

External links

  • Official NIS site (Korean)
  • Official NIS site (English)
  • NIS Documents, some translated NIS publications (mostly on North Korean military and economic capabilities, circa 1999)
  • South Korea's "Spy" Agency - ANSP ("KCIA"), collection of articles (mostly critical) on the agency's activities


 
 

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