The purpose of this Act is to provide for matters necessary for the organization and the scope of duties of the National Intelligence Service and for its efficient performance of national security service.
The National Intelligence Service (hereinafter referred to as the “NIS”) shall be under the jurisdiction of the President of the Republic of Korea and be subject to the direction and supervision of the President.
| Article 3 (Principles of Operation of the NIS) |
| (1) | The NIS shall maintain political neutrality in its operation and protect the freedom and rights of the people. |
| (2) | The Director of the National Intelligence Service (hereinafter referred to as the “Director”), the Deputy Director, the Executive Director, and other employees shall collect intelligence for the purpose of collection set forth in this Act and shall not use the collected information for any purpose other than their duties. |
| (1) | The NIS shall perform each of the following duties: |
| 1. | Collection, preparation, and distribution of intelligence falling under each of the following: |
| (a) | Intelligence on foreign countries and North Korea; |
| (b) | Intelligence on counter-espionage (including counterintelligence against leakage of industrial and economic information, disturbance to the economic orders with overseas connections, and infringement of the defense industry), counterterrorism, and international criminal syndicates; |
| (d) | Intelligence on security infringement related to crimes specified in the National Security Act and is, or is likely to be, affiliated with any anti-government organizations; |
| (e) | Intelligence on cybersecurity such as international and national hacker organizations and security-related space intelligence such as satellites; |
| 2. | Public security services regarding documents, materials, facilities, and regions that fall under state secrets (only 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 security; hereinafter the same shall apply), as well as regarding the personnel dealing with state secrets limited to the national security: Provided, That the security inspection of the agencies of various levels shall be excluded; |
| 3. | Measures related to the performance of duties under subparagraphs 1 and 2, which are taken to identify, monitor, and prevent activities against the public security and national interest, committed by North Korea, foreign states and foreign nationals, foreign organizations, transnational bodies, or Koreans affiliated with any of the foregoing and to protect the safety of the public; |
| 4. | Prevention and countermeasures against cyberattacks and threats targeting the following organizations: |
| (b) | Local governments and their subordinate agencies; |
| (c) | Other public institutions prescribed by Presidential Decree; |
| 5. | Planning and coordination of intelligence and public security services; |
| 6. | Any other matters specified as the duty of the NIS under other statutes. |
| (2) | In relation to the duties under paragraph (1), the Director shall establish the Basic Guidelines for Intelligence Activities, including the principles, scope, and procedures for performing duties, and report the same to the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly. In this case, the Intelligence Committee may request correction or supplementation of any matter in the Guidelines that it deems unlawful or unfair, by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the attending Committee members, and the Director shall comply with such request in the absence of special circumstances. |
| (3) | Matters necessary for the performance of duties under paragraph (1) 1 through 4 and matters regarding the scope of planning and coordination, subject agencies, and relevant procedures under paragraph (1) 5 shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree. |
| Article 5 (Request to State Agencies for Cooperation) |
| (1) | If necessary for the performance of duties, the Director may request State agencies or other relevant agencies or organizations (hereinafter referred to as “State agencies, etc.”) to cooperate or support, such as responding to a facts inquiry and submitting relevant materials. In such cases, the State agencies, etc. shall comply with such request unless there is a good reason for not doing so. |
| (2) | If necessary for the performance of duties under Article 4 (1) 1 (b) through (e) and Article 4 (1) 2, an employee may conduct an investigation through an on-site investigation, access to documents, sample collection, data submission request, statement request, etc. |
| (3) | The NIS shall establish a cooperation system with investigative agencies of various levels to share intelligence in relation to the performance of duties under Article 4 (1) 1 (b) through (d), and the NIS and the investigative agencies shall cooperate with each other. |
| (4) | An employee shall conduct an investigation to the minimum extent necessary to collect information and shall not abuse the investigative power for other purposes. |
[Enforcement Date: Jan. 1, 2024] Article 5 (2) (limited to investigations related to Article 4 (1) 1 (c) and (d))
| (1) | The Director shall, with the approval of the President of the Republic of Korea, determine the organization of the NIS. |
| (2) | Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Director shall not establish an organization to collect and analyze intelligence that may intervene in the politics, deviating from the scope of duties under Article 4. |
| (3) | If deemed particularly necessary for the performance of its duties, the NIS may, with the approval of the President of the Republic of Korea, establish branches in the Special Metropolitan City, Metropolitan City, Special Self-Governing City, Do, or Special Self-Governing Province. |
| (1) | The NIS shall have a Director, a Deputy Director, an Executive Director, and other employees as necessary: Provided, That two or more Deputy Directors may be appointed if necessary for the performance of duties. |
| (2) | The Director may, with the approval of the President of the Republic of Korea, determine the fixed number of employees within budget. |
| Article 8 (Non-Disclosure of Organization) |
The NIS may not disclose the details of its organization, location, and fixed number of employees if necessary for national security.
| Article 9 (Director, Deputy Director, and Executive Director) |
| (1) | The President of the Republic of Korea shall appoint the Director upon a confirmation hearing of the National Assembly, and shall appoint the Deputy Director and the Executive Director 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 the NIS employees. |
| (3) | The Deputy Director and the Executive Director shall be in political service, assist the Director and act on Director’s behalf in case the Director is unable to perform duties due to an unavoidable reason. |
| (4) | Matters regarding the management of personnel other than the Director, Deputy Director, and the Executive Director shall be prescribed by other statutes. |
| Article 10 (Prohibition of Concurrent Positions) |
The Director, the Deputy Director, and the Executive Director shall be prohibited from holding any other office concurrently.
| Article 11 (Prohibition of Participation in Politics) |
| (1) | The Director, the Deputy Director, the Executive Director, and other employees shall not join political parties or organizations or participate in political activities. |
| (2) | Participation in political activities referred to in paragraph (1) means any of the following acts: |
| 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 fundraising for any particular political party, politician, or political organization; or using or requesting funding of any enterprise, the State, any local government or any public institution established under the Act on the Management of Public Institutions; |
| 4. | Conducting election campaigns for a particular political party or politician or engaging in the election-related meetings; |
| 5. | Acts of instigating, inducing, inviting, soliciting, or threatening other people to host, attend, or support an assembly for any particular political party, political organization, or politician; |
| 7. | Requesting an NIS employee or any other public official to do any of the acts set forth in subparagraphs 1 through 6, or giving, promising, or noticing advantage or disadvantage as a reward or retaliation in return for such act. |
| (3) | Where an employee is ordered by the Director, Deputy Director, Executive Director or other employees to execute any of the acts falling under paragraph (2), such employee may raise an objection in accordance with internal procedures; and where no corrective measures are taken, the employee may refuse to carry out such order. |
| (4) | Where no corrective measures are taken after an employee goes through the procedures for raising an objection pursuant to the provisions referred to in paragraph (3), if such member files with an investigative agency a report, solely for the sake of public interest, on the fact that he or she was ordered to execute any of the acts falling under paragraph (2), the provisions of Article 17 of the Act on the Staff of National Intelligence Service Korea shall not apply. |
| (5) | When a personnel member reports to an investigative agency pursuant to paragraph (4), the Director shall report the relevant information to the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly without delay. |
| Article 12 (Employees Holding Concurrent Posts) |
| (1) | The Director may request the head of any relevant agency to dispatch active duty military personnel or necessary public officials to the NIS. |
| (2) | The head of the dispatching agency of the employee holding concurrent posts shall guarantee all rights, remuneration and fringe benefits proportionate to the employee's status, and shall obtain prior consent of the Director when intending to assign the employee to other positions. |
| (3) | An employee 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 employees holding concurrent posts shall be determined by the Director with approval of the President of the Republic of Korea in consultation with the head of the relevant agency. |
| Article 13 (Prohibition of Abuse of Official Authority) |
The Director, Deputy Director, Executive Director, and other employees shall not arrest or detain any person without going through legal procedures, force any institutions, organizations, or individuals to do anything that they are not obligated to do, or obstruct any person’s exercise of rights, by abusing their official authority.
| Article 14 (Prohibition of Illegal Interception or Tracking of Illegal Locations) |
The Director, Deputy Director, Executive Director, and other employees shall not censor any mail, wiretap any telecommunications, record or eavesdrop on conversation between others that are not made public, or collect location information or communication confirmation data without following due process set forth in the Protection of Communications Secrets Act, Act on the Protection, Use, etc. of Location Information, Criminal Procedure Act, or Military Court Act.
| Article 15 (Report to the National Assembly) |
| (1) | The Director shall report to the President of the Republic of Korea and the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly without delay any situation that has a significant impact on national security. |
| (2) | If the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly requests a report on a specific matter by the affirmative vote of at least 2/3 of the incumbent committee members, the Director shall report the relevant information without delay. |
| Article 16 (Budget Accounting) |
| (2) | When the NIS requests 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 Economy and Finance, and it need not submit the details of the calculation of the budget and the documents accompanying the budget bill under Article 34 of that Act. |
| (3) | A portion of the NIS's budget for covert operation which cannot be planned or predicted in advance may be appropriated in total to the budgets of other institutions, and the budgeting, execution, and settlement thereof shall be examined by the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly. |
| (4) | Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (3), detailed data necessary for the substantial examination of all the NIS's budget (including the budgets appropriated to those of other institutions under paragraph (3)) shall be submitted to the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly. |
| (5) | In executing all budgets, the NIS shall attach documents evidencing expenses: Provided, That this shall not apply where confidentiality is required for national security purposes. |
| (6) | The Director shall report the status of budget execution of the NIS to the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly on a quarterly basis. |
| (7) | 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. |
| Article 17 (Testimony at the National Assembly) |
| (1) | The Director shall faithfully submit data and respond during the National Assembly’s review of the budget and accounts and agenda 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, the Director may refuse to submit data or respond, citing reasons therefor. |
| (2) | Notwithstanding paragraph (1), when required to submit data, respond, or testify 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 safety, citing reasons therefor. In such cases, 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 data, response, or testimony shall not be refused. |
| (3) | The Director may request that any data, response, or testimony regarding state secrets not be disclosed. |
| Article 18 (Report on Audit of Accounts and Inspection of Duties) |
The Director shall conduct an audit of budget under his or her jurisdiction and inspect the performance of duties of the NIS employees under his or her 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.
| Article 19 (Request for Suspension of Investigation on Employees) |
| (1) | Where an employee is investigated by another agency for an allegation of a crime related to his or her duties set forth in Article 4, which is likely to result in the leakage of confidential information of the NIS such as special activities, the Director may request the head of the competent investigative agency to suspend such investigation, citing reasons therefor. |
| (2) | The head of the agency who has received a request to suspend an investigation pursuant to paragraph (1) may suspend the investigation if there is a good reason for doing so. |
| Article 20 (Use of Weapons) |
| (1) | When it is deemed necessary for the performance of duties, the Director may authorize an employee under his or her control to carry weapons. |
| Article 21 (Crime of Participation in Politics) |
| (1) | Any person who joins political parties or other political organizations, or participates in political activities in violation of Article 11 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 who attempts the crimes specified in paragraph (1) shall be punished. |
| Article 22 (Crime of Abuse of Official Authority) |
| (1) | Any person who arrests or detains another person; requires other institutions, organizations or individuals to do something they are not obligated to do; or obstructs another person in exercising his or her rights in violation of Article 13 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 who attempts the crimes specified in paragraph (1) shall be punished. |
| Article 23 (Crimes of Illegal Wiretapping or Location Tracking) |
| (1) | A person who censors mail, wiretaps telecommunications, records or eavesdrops on undisclosed conversation between others, in violation of Article 14, shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for at least one year up to 10 years and suspension of qualifications for up to 7 years. |
| (2) | A person who collects location information or data confirming the fact of communications in violation of Article 14 shall be punished by imprisonment with labor of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won. |
| (3) | A person who attempts a crime provided in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be punished. |
| Article 24 (Special Cases Regarding Prescription of Public Prosecution) |
ADDENDA <Act No. 17646, Dec. 15, 2020>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Act shall enter into force on January 1, 2021: Provided, That the amended provisions of Article 4 (1) 1 (c) and (d) and Article 5 (2) (applicable only to investigations related to Article 4 (1) 1 (c) and (d)), and Article 5 (5) through (7) of these Addenda shall enter into force on January 1, 2024. Article 2 (General Transitional Measures)
Acts performed under the previous National Intelligence Service Act as at the time this Act enters into force shall be deemed acts performed under this Act if this Act includes any provisions corresponding thereto. Article 3 (Transitional Measures Regarding Investigation Rights)
Article 4 (Transitional Measures Regarding Penalty Provisions)
Article 5 Omitted.
Article 6 (Relationship to Other Statutes or Regulations)
Where the provisions of the previous National Intelligence Service Act are cited by other statutes or regulations as at the time this Act enters into force and if any provisions corresponding thereto exist in this Act, it shall be deemed that the relevant provisions of this Act are cited in lieu of the previous provisions.