South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party (DPK) is preparing to dismantle the military’s Defense Counterintelligence Command (DCC) and overhaul other powerful state institutions if it regains power, according to party officials and defense sources.
The DCC, accused of involvement in attempted detentions of political figures during a martial law scare on Dec. 3 last year, would have its core functions divided among three Defense Ministry offices under a proposal reviewed by the party’s special defense committee. The plan is expected to be incorporated into the party’s presidential campaign platform once a candidate is confirmed.
“The DCC was at the heart of the martial law situation in this country. We cannot leave such a risk behind,” Kim Do-gyun, a former Capital Defense Command chief and security adviser to leading DPK contender Lee Jae-myung, told the Chosun Ilbo. “Extreme measures are necessary.”
Under the proposed restructuring, the DCC’s military security duties would shift to the Defense Intelligence Agency, internal oversight to the Defense Ministry’s audit office, and counterintelligence to the ministry’s investigation bureau — a move military sources said would effectively dismantle the agency.
At an April 16 roundtable with the minor Rebuilding Korea Party and other groups, the DPK singled out the DCC, the state prosecution service, and the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) as top priorities for reform, vowing to “completely eliminate the remnants of insurrection.”
A retired Defense Security Command (DSC) general, whose agency preceded the DCC, warned that fragmenting these functions would undermine the military’s overall security and counterintelligence operations. “You need security, surveillance, oversight, and counterintelligence to work in concert to be effective. Break them apart, and you cripple the system,” the general told the Chosun Ilbo.
The DCC’s predecessor, the DSC, was downsized in 2018 under the Moon Jae-in administration following controversies over surveillance and political meddling. However, Moon’s government stopped short of fully dispersing its functions. In the five years since the downsizing, there have been no arrests under the National Security Act — a sharp drop from previous administrations, official records show.
Separately, the DPK is moving to strip the state prosecution service of its investigative authority, converting it into a body focused solely on indictments. Lee, the party’s presidential frontrunner, said during a YouTube broadcast on April 15 that investigative and prosecutorial powers should be separated to prevent abuses and ensure agencies can check one another.
The party previously attempted to curtail prosecutorial powers under Moon’s government but faced public backlash over concerns of unchecked crime and expanding legal blind spots. Opposition lawmakers argue that the failure to decisively weaken the prosecution then allowed it to tacitly support last year’s martial law plans.
The DPK is also seeking to increase parliamentary control over the BAI, which conducts government audits. Proposals under review include requiring National Assembly approval for special audits and creating an independent committee to oversee appointments of BAI board members, curbing presidential influence.
Critics, including members of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), denounced the moves as political retaliation disguised as reform. “If the DPK takes power, it will launch a sweeping purge under the pretext of ending the insurrection,” a PPP official told the Chosun Ilbo.
The reform drive has drawn comparisons to the Moon administration’s anti-corruption campaigns, which faced criticism for selectively targeting political opponents. Lee has also pledged to expand the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), doubling its number of prosecutors from 25 to 50, even as the party seeks to weaken the prosecution’s investigative powers — a move critics warn could consolidate authority within a politically loyal agency.
“This is about eliminating a knife they can’t control while sharpening one they can,” a senior prosecutor told the Chosun Ilbo, cautioning that dismantling one investigative body while strengthening another could erode institutional checks and balances.
