Seoul to create economic intelligence bureau under spy agency

[Photo by MK DB]

South Korea is mulling to install a division devoted to economic security at the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in line with the global competition to enhance stability in resourcing of strategic goods amid global supply instability.

The new economic intelligence bureau to be set up as early as within the month or early next year would be responsible for gathering information at home and abroad to back governance for economic security, a high-level government official told the Maeil Business Newspaper requesting anonymity.

The action is a part of the government response not to repeat the stumble over dire urea shortages after Beijing suspended exports of the key material for diesel exhaust fluid necessary to drive diesel vehicles under emission control regulations. The ongoing supply bottleneck from chips to grains and oil have sent global commodity prices surging, fanning inflation and hardening the economy highly reliant on the imports.

In case of urea and urea solution, South Korea has depended on China for nearly 80 percent of the supplies.

“Appointment of a senior rank of 1st grade (assistant ministerial level) has already been made. The working-level organization will be finalized within the next two to three weeks,” the source said.

The new bureau is expected to be manned by 200 intelligence officers. The NIS would be dispatching intelligence officers to economy-related offices of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy and the Ministry of Finance and Economy. The spy agency won’t be sending officers to private sector, the source added.

Washington reportedly also has played a part in the launch. U.S. spy chiefs – William Burns, the chief of the Central Intelligence Agency and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines – during their latest visit to Seoul in October raised the need of a Korean counterpart in addressing global supply chain and other issues related to economic security since the agenda has been of one of the highest importance in the Joe Biden administration.

Seoul also agreed on the necessity, having been confounded by the urea crisis following the upheaval from Japan’s export curt on key components for chips and displays.

NIS chief Park Jie-won during a parliamentary hearing on Nov. 23 apologized for neglecting to report the urea movement in China by failing to see the gravity of the impact on the Korean economy.

Ruling party lawmakers also agreed the rule restricting the spy agency’s intelligence gathering activities should be flexibly eased so that its networking could be better employed for national security affairs.

The domestic operation of the NIS under a new law of 2000 has been restricted to counterintelligence and counterterrorism to prevent the agency from interfering in political affairs and spying on civilians.

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