The military authorities have expressed the opinion that the relevant laws must be supplemented in relation to the discussion on the amendment to the Criminal Act, which includes expanding the application of espionage charges from enemy states to foreign countries.
Defense Ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu stated during a regular briefing today (the 3rd) that discussions are underway in the National Assembly about expanding the targets of espionage charges. He emphasized that “leaking confidential information is a very serious issue that can cause significant harm to national security.”
He added, “I believe related laws need to be reinforced to stricter punish serious issues like the leakage of state secrets.”
Previously, the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s Bill Review Subcommittee 1 had passed a Criminal Act amendment to widen the scope of espionage charges from targeting “enemy states” to “foreign countries or similar organizations.”
However, it has been reported that opposition voices against the proposed amendments to the espionage law are growing among the opposition parties recently. In response, People Power Party’s floor leader Chu Kyung-ho said today, “Expanding the espionage charges from enemy states to foreign countries is for the national interest, not anti-communism,” and that “if the National Assembly nullifies the expansion of espionage charges, it benefits countries other than South Korea, such as China.”
Recently, incidents that could pose severe threats to national security have occurred, such as illegal filming of a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier docked at the Busan Naval Operations Base or the leakage of confidential information within the military intelligence command.