ENFORCEMENT DECREE OF THE MILITARY SECRET PROTECTION ACT
Wholly Amended by Presidential Decree No. 14328, Jul. 20, 1994
Amended by Presidential Decree No. 16211, Mar. 31, 1999
Presidential Decree No. 19321, Feb. 8, 2006
Presidential Decree No. 24113, Sep. 21, 2012
Presidential Decree No. 26140, Mar. 11, 2015
Presidential Decree No. 28266, Sep. 5, 2017
Presidential Decree No. 29114, Aug. 21, 2018
The purpose of this Decree is to provide for the matters delegated under the Military Secret Protection Act and the matters necessary for enforcement thereof. [This Article Wholly Amended on Sep. 21, 2012]
The terms used in this Decree shall be defined as follows:
| 1. | “Disclosure of military secrets” means releasing military secrets to the general public who are unauthorized to handle the secrets, through a statement, the press, or an assembly, etc., after determining to disclose such military secrets through legitimate procedures; |
| 2. | “Provision or explanation of military secrets” means delivering military secrets to, allowing to view military secrets, or verbally communicating the details of military secrets to, persons including those who request provision or explanation of military secrets, through legitimate procedures, upon receipt of a request for provision or explanation of military secrets pursuant to Article 8 of the Military Secret Protection Act (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”). |
[This Article Wholly Amended on Sep. 21, 2012]
| Article 3 (Classification of Military Secrets) |
| 1. | Class-I military secret: A military secret of value the leakage of which is obviously deemed likely to pose a fatal threat to national security; |
| 2. | Class-II military secret: A military secret of value the leakage of which is obviously deemed likely to pose a significant threat to national security; |
| 3. | Class-III military secret: A military secret of value the leakage of which is obviously deemed likely to pose a substantial threat to national security. |
| (2) | Detailed criteria for the classification referred to in paragraph (1) shall be as prescribed in Table 1 attached hereto. |
[This Article Wholly Amended on Sep. 21, 2012]
| Article 4 (Persons Authorized to Designate Military Secrets) |
| (1) | The following persons shall have the authority to designate Class-I military secrets under Article 4 (2) of the Act: <Amended on Mar. 11, 2015; Aug. 21, 2018> |
| 1. | Persons with the authority to authorize others to handle Class-I military secrets under Article 9 (1) 1 through 12 of the Regulations on Security Work, and the designees of such persons; |
| 2. | Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration; |
| 3. | Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; |
| 4. | Commander of the Naval Operations, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Commander of the Air Force Operations Command; |
| 5. | Commander of the Defense Security Support Command and Commander of the Defense Intelligence Command; |
| 6. | President of the Agency for Defense Development under the Act on the Agency for Defense Development; |
| 7. | Other designees of the Minister of National Defense. |
| (2) | The following persons shall have the authority to designate Class-II and Class-III military secrets under Article 4 (2) of the Act: <Amended on Mar. 11, 2015; Sep. 5, 2017> |
| 1. | Persons with the authority to designate Class-I military secrets and the designees of such persons; |
| 2. | Persons with the authority to authorize others to handle Class-II and Class-III military secrets under Article 9 (2) 2 through 4 of the Regulations on Security Work and the designees of such persons; |
| 3. | General-grade officers of the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Defense Intelligence Agency; |
| 4. | The heads, and staff officers who are general-grade officers in organizational position, of military units and agencies under the direct control of the Ministry of National Defense; |
| 5. | General-grade officers of the Headquarters of the Army, Navy, or Air Forces (hereinafter referred to as "each military force") and the heads of military units under the direct control of each Headquarters; |
| 6. | The heads of military units under the command of a general-grade officer in organizational position, from among subordinate military units of each military force, and staff officers in such military units who are general-grade officers in organizational position; |
| 7. | Other designees of the Minister of National Defense. |
[This Article Wholly Amended on Sep. 21, 2012]
| Article 5 (Protective Measures, etc. for Military Secrets) |
| 1. | Prepare measures to protect military secrets from theft, loss, fire or destruction, etc. and to track their production process and distribution path; |
| 2. | Make sure that military secrets are handled only by persons who are authorized to handle military secrets of a relevant class and whose duty is relevant; |
| 3. | Require military secrets to be designated by the person authorized to designate military secrets, who is first in the line of approval based on their substance and value; |
| 4. | Require military secrets to be indicated or notified according to the indication methods of military secrets at the time the military secrets are first produced, to bar access of persons unauthorized to handle the military secrets and to warn persons handling the military secrets; |
| 5. | The methods of indicating or notifying military secrets shall be as prescribed in Table 2 attached hereto. |
| (2) | The military protection areas prescribed in Article 5 (2) of the Act shall be designated as a specified range of areas, to bar access to, or conceal, the location of military secrets for which indication or notification is impossible or inappropriate. |
| (3) | The demarcation of military protection areas, the areas subject to designation, and the methods of designation referred to in paragraph (2) shall be as prescribed in Table 3 attached hereto. |
| (4) | The head of a military unit (including the head of an agency; the same shall apply hereinafter) handling military secrets shall take the following protective measures for a designated military protection area: |
| 1. | Place security guards for protection of military secrets; |
| 2. | Define scope of persons authorized to enter the area and restrict entry by unauthorized persons; |
| 3. | Install locking system in containers or facilities storing military secrets. |
| (5) | In order to prevent divulgence of military secrets by any persons who are discharged from active service or retired, the head of a military unit handling military secrets shall take the following measures prior to their discharge from active service or retirement: |
| 1. | Perform security checkup and security education; |
| 2. | Cancel his/her account in the intelligence system; |
| 3. | Verify actual status of transfer and take-over of secrets; |
| 4. | Execute a covenant of confidentiality. |
[This Article Wholly Amended on Sep. 21, 2012]
| Article 6 (Declassification) |
| (1) | The declassification of military secrets under Article 6 of the Act shall be classified as declassification by an advance notice whereby military secrets are declassified on the date notified in advance, or immediate declassification whereby military secrets are declassified due to no further need to protect their confidentiality for reasons such as disclosure. |
| (2) | Upon immediate declassification under paragraph (1), the person authorized to designate the relevant military secrets shall promptly notify such declassification to the department in charge of handling the relevant military secrets. |
| (3) | Matters necessary for procedures, etc. for the declassification of military secrets under paragraph (1) shall be determined by the Minister of National Defense or the Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, according to relevance of their duties to such matters. |
[This Article Wholly Amended on Sep. 21, 2012]
| (1) | Disclosure of military secrets by the Minister of National Defense or the Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration pursuant to Article 7 of the Act shall be made through a security policy meeting, and in case of important military secrets, shall be subject to approval of the Director of the National Intelligence Service. |
| (2) | Military secrets disclosed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be deemed declassified at the time of their disclosure. |
| (3) | Matters necessary for the formation and operation of the security policy meeting referred to in paragraph (1) shall be determined by the Minister of National Defense or the Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, according to relevance of their duties to such matters. |
[This Article Wholly Amended on Sep. 21, 2012]
| Article 8 (Provision and Explanation) |
| (1) | Provision or explanation of military secrets pursuant to Article 8 of the Act by the Minister of National Defense or the Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration shall comply with the following: |
| 1. | Security measures such as a covenant of confidentiality shall be in place; |
| 2. | The following facts shall be notified prior to provision or explanation of military secrets: |
| (a) | Class of the military secrets; |
| (b) | Prohibition of recording, taking a note of, photographing, excerpting, or photocopying the military secrets; |
| (c) | No provision or explanation of the military secrets to a third party; |
| (d) | Prospect of punishment under Articles 12 through 15 and Article 18 for divulgence of the military secrets to a third party; |
| (e) | Duty to protect the military secrets from theft, loss, fire, destruction, etc. |
| 3. | Explanation of military secrets shall take place at a location where security measures, such as restricted entry by a third party, are in place. |
| (2) | Matters necessary for the procedures for provision or explanation of military secrets and the security measures, etc. under paragraph (1) shall be determined by the Minister of National Defense or the Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, according to relevance of their duties to such matters. |
[This Article Wholly Amended on Sep. 21, 2012]
| Article 9 (Request for Disclosure) |
| (1) | Any person intending to request disclosure of military secrets pursuant to Article 9 of the Act shall submit an application for disclosure of military secrets in the Form attached hereto, specifying the reasons therefor, to the Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration or the head of the military unit responsible for handling the military secrets. |
| (2) | The head of the military unit who receives an application for disclosure of military secrets under paragraph (1) shall submit the application, along with his/her own review opinion regarding disclosure of the military secrets, to the Minister of National Defense. |
| (3) | Article 7 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the disclosure of military secrets by the Minister of National Defense or the Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration upon a request for disclosure of military secrets under paragraph (1). |
| (4) | The Minister of National Defense shall notify the applicant in writing of the result of the application for disclosure of military secrets under paragraph (1) via the head of the military unit responsible for handling the military secrets, and the Minister of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration shall directly notify the applicant in writing of the result thereof. |
[This Article Wholly Amended on Sep. 21, 2012]
| Article 10 (Application of Security Operating Rules) |
Matters regarding protection of military secrets other than those prescribed in this Decree shall be as prescribed by the Security Operating Rules.
[This Article Wholly Amended on Sep. 21, 2012]
ADDENDUM <Presidential Decree No. 14328, Jul. 20, 1994>
This Decree shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation.
ADDENDA <Presidential Decree No. 16211, Mar. 31, 1999>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Decree shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation.
Articles 2 through 4 Omitted.
ADDENDA <Presidential Decree No. 19321, Feb. 8, 2006>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Decree shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation.
Articles 2 through 5 Omitted.
ADDENDUM <Presidential Decree No. 24113, Sep. 21, 2012>
This Decree shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation.
ADDENDA <Presidential Decree No. 26140, Mar. 11, 2015>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Decree shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation.
Articles 2 and 3 Omitted.
ADDENDA <Presidential Decree No. 28266, Sep. 5, 2017>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Decree shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation. (Proviso Omitted.)
Articles 2 through 4 Omitted.
ADDENDA <Presidential Decree No. 29114, Aug. 21, 2018>
Article 1 (Enforcement Date)
This Decree shall enter into force on Sep. 1, 2018.
Articles 2 through 4 Omitted.