Rival political parties have begun deliberations on the spy agency’s plan to transfer its anticommunist investigative authority to police.
The National Assembly Intelligence Committee on Tuesday held a subcommittee meeting to review a revised NIS act focused on reforming the agency, including renouncing its authority to investigate suspected communists, a power the agency has been accused of abusing in the past to gag dissidents.
However, lawmaker Kim Byung-kee, who represents the ruling Democratic Party on the committee, told Yonhap News the two sides only confirmed their differences on the issue, saying the opposition is strongly opposed to the revision.
Lawmaker Ha Tae-keung of the main opposition People Power Party said that national security should not be subject to experimentation and that police are not yet qualified to take over.
The rival parties plan to consult with experts on the matter.
A day earlier, NIS Director Park Jie-won vowed efforts to complete the reform of the agency, which also focuses on legislative efforts to prevent the spy agency from intervening in domestic political affairs.