A total of 6 bills proposing an amendment from ‘enemy country’ to ‘foreign country’ were introduced. While the political sector is engaging in blame game over the failed revision of the Criminal Code in the previous National Assembly, both ruling and opposition parties are forming a consensus on the need for the revision.
According to the National Assembly Legislative Information System on the 2nd, a total of 6 bills proposing an amendment to expand the scope of espionage crimes from ‘enemy country’ to ‘foreign country’ were introduced in the 22nd National Assembly. In the main opposition party, Reps. Joo Ho-young and In Yo-han each proposed 2 bills, while in the ruling party, Reps. Jang Kyung-tae, Park Sun-won, Wi Seong-rak, and Kang Yoo-jung sequentially proposed bills as representatives. In particular, the bill proposed by Rep. Kang Yoo-jung the previous day is the first bill to emerge in relation to recent reports of a military officer under the command of the military intelligence unit sharing a large amount of information, including ‘black operations,’ with Chinese individuals.
A chief representative has been advocating for the expansion of enforcement of espionage crimes by criticizing the ruling party daily. Therefore, there is speculation that the ruling party, the People Power Party, may push forward with the revision as a party consensus once the new policy committee is formed under the chairmanship of Kim Sang-hoon. A key figure in the People Power Party leadership said, “Since Chief Representative Han has taken the lead on the issue, it is natural that discussions on espionage-related criminal code amendments, such as roundtable discussions or seminars, will be held in the future.” Han stated, “At the Supreme Council meeting held the previous day at the National Assembly, it is a fact that the amendment related to espionage crimes did not pass in the previous National Assembly due to the cautious attitude of the ruling party. The current era directly links information to national security. If the ruling party agrees, swift revision is possible.”
The ruling Democratic Party, which holds the majority of seats in the legislature, is also expected to begin discussions on whether to push ahead with the party consensus. While refuting the opposition’s blame game against Chief Representative Han as “a clear lie,” it is interpreted that the party intends to take the lead in pushing for the amendment to secure the initiative. A senior official in the Democratic Party’s leadership said, “It is not yet at the stage of pushing for a party consensus, but it is clear that there is a broad consensus among several members.” The party’s spokesperson, Choi Min-seok, stated in a commentary the previous day, “Even by just looking at the minutes of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting in 2023, it was a Democratic Party member who took the lead in pushing for the amendment to apply the espionage crime to ‘foreign countries’ as well. If the conservative party representative fears being labeled as neglecting security matters, he should apologize to the public for his mistakes even now and cooperate with the Democratic Party’s espionage law amendment.”
However, there is also an analysis that swift consensus within the Democratic Party may not be easy, as some figures in the party, including Rep. Park Ji-won, a former director of the National Intelligence Service, have differing opinions on the amendment to the Criminal Code. In a YTN radio interview on the last day of the previous month, Rep. Park said, “The National Intelligence Service is uncovering all spies or thugs and handing them over to the prosecution for conviction during the final indictment stage,” and pointed out, “There are sufficient laws, including the National Security Act.”
Article 98, paragraph 1 of the current Criminal Code states, “Anyone who spies for an enemy country or aids and abets a spy from an enemy country is subject to capital punishment, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for at least 7 years.” The concept of an enemy country applies only to North Korea, making it difficult to punish acts such as leaking national secrets to countries other than North Korea under current law. By Yang Geun-hyuk and Shin Hyeon-joo, reporters.