NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE KOREA ACT
Wholly Amended by Act No. 3313, Dec. 31, 1980
Amended by Act No. 3492, Dec. 31, 1981
Act No. 3993, Dec. 4, 1987
Act No. 4708, Jan. 5, 1994
Act No. 5252, Dec. 31, 1996
Act No. 5454, Dec. 13, 1997
Act No. 5681, Jan. 21, 1999
Act No. 6622, Jan. 19, 2002
Act No. 6855, Feb. 4, 2003
Act No. 8050, Oct. 4, 2006
Act No. 11104, Nov. 22, 2011
Act No. 12600, May 20, 2014
Act No. 12948, Dec. 30, 2014
The purpose of this Act is to provide for matters necessary for the organization and the scope of service of the National Intelligence Service and for its efficient performance of national security service.
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
The National Intelligence Service (hereinafter referred to as the "NIS") shall be under the jurisdiction of the President of the Republic of Korea and subject to his/her direction and supervision.
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| (1) | The NIS shall perform each of the following services: |
| 1. | Collection, compilation and distribution of foreign intelligence and domestic security intelligence (anti-communism, subversion of the Government, counter-espionage, counter-terrorism and international criminal syndicate); |
| 2. | Public security service concerning the documents, materials, facilities and regions which are classified as the state secrets: Provided, That the security inspection of the agencies of various levels shall be excluded; |
| 4. | Criminal investigation into the crimes related to the duties of the NIS’s personnel; |
| 5. | Planning and coordination of intelligence and public security service. |
| (2) | Matters necessary to perform the services set forth in paragraph (1) 1 and 2, and those concerning the scope, target institutions and procedure, etc. of the planning and coordination referred to in paragraph (1) 5 shall be provided for by Presidential Decree. |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| (1) | The organization of the NIS shall be determined by the Director of the NIS (hereinafter referred to as the "Director") after obtaining the approval of the President of the Republic of Korea. |
| (2) | With the approval of the President of the Republic of Korea, the NIS may establish branches in the Special Metropolitan City, Metropolitan Cities, Dos or Special Self-Governing Provinces if deemed particularly necessary to perform its duties. |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| (1) | The NIS shall have one Director, Deputy Director, Executive Director, and other necessary personnel: Provided, That two or more Deputy Directors may be appointed if deemed particularly necessary. |
| (2) | The fixed number of personnel shall be determined by the Director after obtaining approval of the President of the Republic of Korea, within budgetary limits. |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 6 (Confidentiality of Organization, etc.) |
If necessary for the sake of national security, the organization, the location and the fixed number of personnel of the NIS may be kept confidential.
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 7 (Director, Deputy Director and Executive Director) |
| (1) | The Director shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea after going through a confirmation hearing of the National Assembly, and the Deputy Director and the Executive Director shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea upon the Director's recommendation. |
| (2) | The Director shall be in political service, and exercise overall control over the affairs of the NIS and direct and supervise its personnel. |
| (3) | The Deputy Director shall be in political service, assist the Director and act on his/her behalf in case he/she is unable to perform his/her duties due to an unavoidable reason. |
| (4) | The Executive Director shall be in special service, assist the Director and the Deputy Director and performs the assigned duties. |
| (5) | Personnel affairs on the personnel other than the Director, the Deputy Director, and the Executive Director shall be prescribed by other Acts. |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 8 (Prohibition of Concurrent Office) |
The Director, the Deputy Director and the Executive Director shall be prohibited from holding any other office concurrently.
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 9 (Prohibition of Involvement in Politics) |
| (1) | The Director, the Deputy Director and other personnel shall be prohibited from joining political parties or organizations or participating in political activities. |
| (2) | Participation in political activities referred to in paragraph (1) means any of the following acts: <Amended by Act No. 12266, Jan. 14, 2014> |
| 1. | Assisting or obstructing another person in forming or joining any political party or political organization; |
| 2. | Disseminating opinions in support of or against a particular political party or politician by taking advantage of one's position in the NIS, or disseminating opinions or facts that praise or slander any particular political party or politician for the purpose of forming public opinions for or against such political party or politician; |
| 3. | Assisting with or obstructing fund-raising for any particular political party or politician, or using or allowing the use of funds of the State, local governments or the public institutions under the Act on the Management of Public Institutions; |
| 4. | Conducting election campaigns for a particular political party or politician or participating in the election-related preparatory meetings; |
| 6. | Requesting the NIS personnel or other public officials to do any acts set forth in subparagraphs 1 through 5, or giving, promising, or noticing advantage or disadvantage as a reward or retaliation in return for such acts. |
| (3) | Where personnel are ordered by the Director, Deputy Director and other personnel to execute acts falling under paragraph (2), they may raise an objection in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Director, and where no corrective measures are taken, they may refuse to carry out such order. <Newly Inserted by Act No. 12266, Jan. 14, 2014> |
| (4) | Where no corrective measures are taken after the personnel go through the procedures for raising an objection pursuant to the provisions referred to in the previous paragraph, if they file a report, solely for the sake of public interest, on the fact that they were ordered to execute acts falling under paragraph (2) with investigative authorities, the provisions of Article 17 of the Act on the Staff of National Intelligence Service shall not apply. <Newly Inserted by Act No. 12266, Jan. 14, 2014> |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 10 (Personnel Holding Concurrent Posts) |
| (1) | The Director may request the head of any relevant agency to dispatch the military personnel in active service or necessary public officials to the NIS. |
| (2) | The head of the dispatching agency of personnel holding concurrent posts shall guarantee all rights, remuneration and fringe benefits proportionate to their status, and shall obtain the prior consent of the Director when intending to assign them to other positions. |
| (3) | The personnel holding concurrent posts shall not be subject to the direction or supervision of the head of the dispatching agency during the period of holding concurrent posts. |
| (4) | The fixed number of personnel holding concurrent posts shall be determined by the Director on approval by the President of the Republic of Korea in consultation with the head of the relevant agency. |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 11 (Prohibition of Abuse of Official Authority) |
| (1) | The Director, Deputy Director or other personnel of the NIS shall neither arrest or detain any person without going through legal procedures, nor force any institutions, organizations or individuals to do anything they are not obligated to do, nor obstruct any person’s exercise of rights, by abusing his/their official authority. |
| (2) | The staff of the NIS who performs the duties of the judicial police officer (including the military judicial police officer) under Article 16 of the Act shall comply with due procedures for the criminal investigation including each of the following provisions: |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 12 (Budget and Accounting) |
| (2) | When the NIS requests for the revenue and expenditure budgets, it shall file the request in total in accordance with the classification of Article 21 of the National Finance Act with the Minister of Strategy and Finance, and it may not submit the details of the calculation of the budget and the documents annexed to the budget bill under Article 34 of the said Act. <Amended by Act No. 12266, Jan. 14, 2014> |
| (3) | Portion of NIS's budget for covert operation cost which cannot be planned or predicted in advance may be appropriated in total to the budgets of other institutions, and the budgets shall be examined by the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly. <Amended by Act No. 12266, Jan. 14, 2014> |
| (4) | Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (3), the detailed materials necessary for the substantial examination of all the NIS's budgets (including the budgets appropriated to those of other institutions under paragraph (3)) shall be submitted to the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly. <Amended by Act No. 12266, Jan. 14, 2014> |
| (5) | The deliberation on the NIS's budget by the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly shall be conducted confidentially and its members shall not disclose or divulge the details of the budget. |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 13 (Testimony, etc. at National Assembly) |
| (1) | The Director shall submit materials and make a reply in a conscientious manner during the National Assembly’s review of the budget and accounts and bills of and the Board of Audit and Inspection’s audit and inspection: Provided, That with regard to state secrets that would have a serious influence on national security, he/she may refuse to submit reference data or to make a reply after explaining reasons for such refusal. <Amended by Act No. 12266, Jan. 14, 2014> |
| (2) | Notwithstanding paragraph (1), when required to submit reference data, make a reply or give testimony by the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly or under the Act on Testimony, Appraisal, etc. before the National Assembly, the Director may refuse to do so, only with regard to the state secrets on the military, diplomatic or North Korea-related issues about which the public knowledge may have a serious influence on the national destiny, by explaining the reasons for such refusal. In this case, the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly, etc. may request the Prime Minister's explanation by its resolution, and without the Prime Minister's explanation submitted within seven days after such request, submission of such reference data, reply or testimony shall not be refused. |
| (3) | The Director may request that any reference data, reply or testimony concerning the matters classified as the state secrets not be disclosed. |
| (4) | "State secrets" in this Act is limited to the facts, goods or knowledge classified as state secrets, the access to which is permitted to a limited scope of persons and which shall not be disclosed to any other country or organization, in order to avoid any serious disadvantage to the national safety. |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 14 (Report on Audit of Accounts and Inspection of Duties) |
The Director shall conduct audit of budget under his jurisdiction and inspect the performance of duties of the NIS personnel under his own responsibility, and shall report on the result thereof to the President of the Republic of Korea and the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly.
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 15 (Request to State Agencies, etc. for Cooperation) |
The Director may request the head of a related State agency or public organization for cooperation and support necessary for his/her performance of the duties prescribed in this Act.
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 15-2 (Execution of Duties by Personnel) |
No personnel shall carry out intelligence activities against other government agencies and civilians including political parties, media outlets through dispatch, regular access and other means in violation of Acts and the internal rules. The procedures and methods for the execution of such duties shall be prescribed by the internal rules.
[This Article Newly Inserted by Act No. 12266, Jan. 14, 2014]
| Article 16 (Judicial Police Power) |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 17 (Use of Weapons) |
| (1) | When it is deemed necessary for the performance of duties, the Director may authorize the personnel under his control to carry weapons with them. |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 18 (Crime of Involvement in Politics) |
| (1) | Any person who joins political parties or other political organizations, or participates in political activities in contravention of Article 9 (1) shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than seven years and suspension of qualification for not more than seven years. <Amended by Act No. 12266, Jan. 14, 2014> |
| (2) | Any person who attempts the crimes specified in paragraph (1) shall be punished. |
| (3) | Notwithstanding Article 249 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Act, the period of prescription of a public prosecution for the crimes stipulated in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be ten years. <Newly Inserted by Act No. 12266, Jan. 14, 2014> |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
| Article 19 (Crime of Abuse of Official Authority) |
| (1) | Any person who arrests or detains other persons, or makes other agencies, organizations or individuals do something they are not obligated to do, or obstructs other persons in exercising their rights in violation of Article 11 (1) shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than seven years and suspension of qualification for not more than seven years. |
| (2) | Any person performing the duties of the judicial police officer (including the military judicial police officer) as the NIS personnel who fails to comply with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act concerning interview and medical care of, communication with, and notice of detention to the suspect by the defense counsel, and interview and medical care of the suspect, and request for appointment of defense attorneys by persons other than the defense counsel, in violation of Article 11 (2), and therefore infringes on the rights of the suspect, defense attorney, or other persons concerned shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than one year or by a fine not exceeding ten million won. |
| (3) | Any person who attempts the crimes specified in paragraph (1) shall be punished. |
[This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 11104, Nov 22, 2011]
ADDENDA
| (1) | (Enforcement Date) This Act shall enter into force on January 1, 1981. |
| (2) | (Transitional Measures) The Director, Deputy Director and Planning and Coordinating Officer of the Central Intelligence Agency in office as at the time this Act enters into force shall be considered as the Director, Deputy Director and Executive Director under this Act. |
| (3) | (Relations with Other Acts) The term the "Central Intelligence Agency" and the "Director of the Central Intelligence Agency" provided for in the Government Organization Act or other statutes as at the time this Act enters into force shall be considered as the "Agency for National Security Planning" and the "Director of the Agency for National Security Planning" respectively. |
ADDENDA <Act No. 3492, Dec. 31, 1981>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Act shall enter into force on February 1, 1982.
Article 2 Omitted.
Article 3 (Transitional Measures)
| (1) | Any person who is nominated as a judicial police officer or junior judicial police officer by the Prosecutor General, the chief prosecutor of a district prosecutor's office or the Director of the Agency for National Security Planning under the provisions of the Measurement Act, the Natural Park Act, the Customs Act, the Military Support and Compensation Act, the Agency for National Security Planning Act or the Military Secret Protection Act, and the fishery supervising officials nominated by the head of the relevant authorities through consultation with the chief prosecutor of a district prosecutor's office under the Fisheries Act as at the time this Act enters into force shall be deemed a judicial police officer or junior judicial police officer under this Act, and duties executed by the judicial police officer under the previous provisions of the Measurement Act, the Natural Park Act, the Customs Act, the Fisheries Act, the Military Support and Compensation Act, the Agency for National Security Planning Act or the Military Secret Protection Act shall be considered as having been executed under this Act. |
Article 4 Omitted.
ADDENDA <Act No. 3993, Dec. 4, 1987>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Act shall enter into force on February 25, 1988.
Articles 2 through 4 Omitted.
ADDENDA <Act No. 4708, Jan. 5, 1994>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Act shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation.
Article 2 (Transitional Measures)
| (1) | Notwithstanding the amended provisions of Article 3 (1) 3 of this Act, the Agency for National Security Planning may investigate the crimes provided for in Article 7 (3) and (5) of the National Security Act and crimes of attempting and conspiring to commit, and preparing, such crimes for one year after the enforcement date of this Act: Provided, That the cases under investigation at the time of the expiration of such period shall be handed over to other investigative institutions within three months thereafter. |
| (2) | Any cases under investigation as at the time this Act enters into force, except for those related to the crimes provided for in Article 3 (1) 3 of this Act (excluding the crimes provided for in Article 7 (3) and (5) of the National Security Act and crimes of attempting and conspiring to, and preparing, such crimes) shall be handed over to other investigative institution within three months after the enforcement date of this Act. |
ADDENDUM <Act No. 5252, Dec. 31, 1996>
This Act shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation.
ADDENDUM <Act No. 5454, Dec. 13, 1997>
This Act shall enter into force on January 1, 1998. (Proviso Omitted.)
ADDENDA <Act No. 5681, Jan. 21, 1999>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Act shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation.
Article 2 (Transitional Measures on Affairs and Personnel according to Modification in Name of Agency)
| (1) | The Director of the National Intelligence Service shall succeed to the affairs of the Director of the Agency for National Security Planning as at the time this Act enters into force. |
| (2) | The Director, Deputy Director, Planning and Coordinating Officer and other personnel of the Agency for National Security Planning as at the time this Act enters into force shall be deemed the Director, Deputy Director, Executive Director and other personnel of the National Intelligence Service under this Act, respectively. |
Article 3 Omitted.
Article 4 (Relation to Other Acts and Statutes)
ADDENDA <Act No. 6622, Jan. 19, 2002>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Act shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation. (Proviso Omitted.)
Articles 2 and 3 Omitted.
ADDENDA <Act No. 6855, Feb. 4, 2003>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Act shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation. (Proviso Omitted.)
Article 2 Omitted.
ADDENDA <Act No. 8050, Oct. 4, 2006>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Act shall enter into force on January 1, 2007. (Proviso Omitted.)
Articles 2 through 12 Omitted.
ADDENDUM <Act No. 11104, Nov. 22, 2011>
This Act shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation.
ADDENDUM <Act No. 12266, Jan. 14, 2014>
This Act shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation.
ADDENDA <Act No. 12600, May 20, 2014>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Act shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation. (Proviso Omitted.)
Article 2 Omitted.
ADDENDUM <Act No. 12948, Dec. 30, 2014>
This Act shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation.