On first visit to NIS, president hails agents help in tackling Southeast Asian crime

Presidential spokeswoman Kang Yu-jung briefs reporters at the presidential office in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

In his first visit to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) since taking office in June, President Lee Jae Myung urged the agency to move beyond its legacy of political interference and sharpen its public safety mandate, praising agents for helping dismantle Southeast Asian crime networks and aiding major drug trafficking crackdowns.

Presidential spokeswoman Kang Yu-jung said Lee chose the NIS for his first official policy briefing to signal that the agency must “reflect on past wrongs and continue reform so it can serve the nation and its people.”

Kang noted that while the NIS has long been drawn into political controversies as an instrument of state power, it has not engaged in actions such as insurrection — a reference to the failed martial law declaration by former President Yoon Suk Yeol in December 2024. Lee, she added, stressed that the agency should now focus its capabilities squarely on public protection.

“The government will support the NIS so it can fully utilize its capabilities for public safety and national defense,” she said.

Lee praised the agency for assisting Cambodian authorities in apprehending the prime suspect in the killing of a Korean university student and for its cooperation in dismantling large-scale scam networks in Cambodia and across Southeast Asia. Kang said the president also highlighted the NIS’ recent coordination with police on major domestic drug trafficking investigations, instructing officials to “use every available capability” to ensure criminal groups understand that “targeting Korea only brings losses.”

After receiving the policy report, Lee met with NIS employees. He also became the first Korean president to visit the NIS’ National Space Security Center — a core satellite intelligence and space security hub — where he received an additional operational briefing.