Defense Ministry launches security investigation unit after counterintelligence agency dissolved

The Ministry of National Defense's Investigation Headquarters on Monday launched a new security investigation unit to take over counterintelligence functions transferred following the dissolution of the Defense Counterintelligence Command.

The headquarters held a founding ceremony for the Security Investigation Unit and the Cyber Forensic Investigation Unit that afternoon at Saheon Hall on the first floor of the Defense Investigation Headquarters, presided over by Investigation Headquarters chief Park Jeong-hun.

In his address, Park said the occasion marked more than the launch of two new organizations. "We are witnessing the historic launch of the Security Investigation Unit and the Cyber Forensic Investigation Unit," he said. "I am grateful to all of you who have long served on the front lines against the many threats to national security — espionage, acts of subversion and the leaking of military secrets."

He added that the significance lay in what the launch represented. "Beyond simply standing up a new organization, the greater meaning is that a new security investigation framework — one that actively responds to a changing security environment and protects the military and the public from crimes threatening national security — is now fully under way," he said.

Park stressed the importance of combining military police investigative expertise with counterintelligence capabilities. "An organization is only truly complete when members who have worked in different environments come to understand one another, build trust and move together toward a single goal," he said.

He went on to say that shared mission now mattered more than institutional origins. "What is more important now is not 'where you came from' but 'what mission we will carry out together,'" he said. "We are now one family and one team."

Asked about concerns that the Investigation Headquarters could accumulate excessive power, Park said merging criminal investigation with the counterintelligence functions transferred from the Defense Counterintelligence Command would create significant synergies, but acknowledged the risk. "Regarding concerns about the concentration and expansion of power, I as headquarters chief have taken responsibility for developing countermeasures and will continue to do so," he said.

He said the headquarters had strengthened its internal audit and legal functions and established a new investigation review office to monitor the entire process from the opening to the close of each case.

Park added that the headquarters would maintain close working ties with the Military Protection Bureau of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. It also planned to adopt transparency and fairness measures already introduced by the National Intelligence Service and police through investigative cooperation with those agencies.

On concerns that dispersing the three core functions of the dissolved counterintelligence command could create operational gaps, Park said a security consultative body would be established with the Investigation Headquarters chief serving as chair. "We will convene the consultative body for all three functions in the shortest possible time to ensure each operates in coordination and that there are no gaps," he said.