Defense Counterintelligence Command

History

The Defense Counterintelligence Command was formally activated in October 1977 under the name Military Security Command (MSC; ). This merger of the Army Security Command, the Navy Security Unit, and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations produced a single, integrated unit under the direct command and operational control of the minister of national defense.

Chun Doo-hwan became chief of the Military Security Command in February 1979, eight months before Park Chung Hee was assassinated on October 26, 1979. From his position as commander of the DSC, Chun effectively became chief investigator of the assassination, said Don Oberdorfer in his book The Two Koreas. On December 12, 1979, a group of generals led by Chun arrested martial law commander General Jeong Seung-hwa, the army chief of staff, and seized key sites in the capital.

The DSC's involvement in 1979 was considered and defined as attempt of a coup by state council.

Criticism

During the Gwangju Uprising, many plainclothed DSC operatives disguised themselves as protesters to conduct clandestine and covert operations, counterintelligence, counter-revolutionary, and psychological warfare against civilian militias. Their main objective was arrest and detain militia members illegally and fabricating lies and calumnies about militia to ruin the militia's reputation and make the uprising look like North Korean operatives involved.

On November 11, 2011, the Seoul National Labor Relations Commission exposed a DSC member who had been illegally collecting the information of civilians registered in the National Health Insurance Corporation for three and a half years.

Before the impeachment of Park Geun-hye in March 2017, the DSC was planning a self-coup and a declaration of martial law in case the impeachment of Park Geun-hye failed and anticipation of prolonged protests in response. The DSC's self-coup plan document was revealed to the public in 2018.

References

References

1. "History". Defense Counterintelligence Command.
2. link. Defense Counterintelligence Command. ().
3. During the KACIC period.
4. For his role in the [[2024 South Korean martial law crisis. 2024 martial law crisis]]
5. "Command Spirit". Defense Counterintelligence Command.
6. link. [[The Dong-A Ilbo]]. (1953-10-23)
7. link. (2006-04-16)
8. "Military Security". Defense Counterintelligence Command.
9. "Defense Industry Security". Defense Counterintelligence Command.
10. "Forensic investigation". Defense Counterintelligence Command.
11. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass, 1997, {{ISBN. 0-201-40927-5, p. 121
12. Lee Wan-bum. "12·12 군사반란 (十二十二 軍事叛亂)". [[Academy of Korean Studies]].
13. "기무사 사진첩, 37년 만에 공개 ① : 평상복으로 위장한 군인이 기록한 5·18".
14. link
15. Tae-gyu (태규). Kim (김). (2011-11-12). link. The Hankyeoreh
16. link. News1]]
17. link