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| Officials from the National Intelligence Service conduct a raid of the headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions in central Seoul while surrounded by union officials holding signs of protest, Jan. 18. Yonhap |
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Friday slammed the ruling party's push to call off the envisioned transfer of the authority to conduct anti-espionage investigations related to North Korea from the spy agency to the police.
The issue drew fresh attention after President Yoon Suk Yeol said during a luncheon with leaders of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday the plan should be reconsidered as it involves overseas investigations while the police mostly operate within the country.
Under a law revision passed in 2020 during the preceding Moon Jae-in administration, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) is scheduled to hand over to police the right to investigate espionage cases linked to North Korea next year.
The PPP has called for keeping the NIS in charge of such investigations, arguing that the transfer of the authority to the police can weaken the investigative capabilities to crack down on Pyongyang's espionage activities here.
But the main opposition DPK bristled at such a move.
On Friday, DPK spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom said in a statement that the push is an "unconstitutional attempt" aimed at allowing the NIS to conduct surveillance on people and manipulate public opinion.
"Yoon has revealed his snaky true intention to reverse the envisioned transfer of anti-communist investigative authority after using the NIS to noisily raid labor union offices," the DPK spokesperson said, accusing the government of returning the spy agency to that of the 1970s when there was a red scare.
"What the era wants is the NIS to correct its dark history of the past and become an elite intelligence agency that serves for the national security."
Earlier this month, the NIS raided the headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and some offices of other labor unions affiliated with the KCTU over suspicions that some union members had unauthorized meetings with North Korean agents in violation of the National Security law. (Yonhap)
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