Former NIS Head Ha Dong-hwan Contrasts U.S. FARA with South Korea’s Legislative Issues
Thirty-one lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea and other pro-government factions submitted a bill to abolish the National Security Act early this month, leading to ongoing petitions against it in the National Assembly. Ha Dong-hwan, former head of the Daegu branch of the National Intelligence Service, told this newspaper on the 13th, “The current Republic of Korea, which is self-destructively seeking to abolish the National Security Act — a law that punishes espionage activities benefiting enemy states — stands in stark contrast to the United States, which immediately punishes any espionage activities that could harm national interests.” Ha, a veteran counterintelligence investigator, spent approximately 30 years before his retirement three years ago navigating domestic and international counterespionage fronts and was responsible for major public security cases, including the Underground Revolutionary Organization (RO) and the Wangjaesan espionage group.
Ha, the former head, stated, “Ordinary South Korean citizens would never encounter situations that could violate the National Security Act in their lifetime,” adding, “The argument by abolitionists that the National Security Act is an evil law infringing on basic human rights and freedoms of expression holds no persuasiveness.” He continued, “Abolitionists deceive the public by insisting that the crime of insurrection under the Criminal Act alone is sufficient to prevent national upheaval. While the crime of insurrection under the Criminal Act can punish acts of rioting aimed at paralyzing state functions, simple anti-government protests or violent assemblies do not fall under this category. By the time an insurrection occurs, the state is on the brink of collapse, but the National Security Act is powerful because it completely blocks such situations in advance.”
Ha mentioned the case of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions espionage group, whose leader was arrested by the NIS in May 2022 and received a final guilty sentence of 9 years and 6 months in prison from the Supreme Court in September 2025 this year. He noted that the leader “received a total of 102 orders from North Korea over five years from 2018 to 2022, instructing to expand the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ general strikes and anti-American struggles into political struggles, and accordingly carried out espionage activities such as meetings, communications, infiltration, escape, and mission execution.” He added, “The leader was punished after it was confirmed that he detected and collected real-time information on domestic political, social, and labor situations and reported them to North Korea.” He emphasized, “Without the National Security Act, our government authorities would have had to helplessly watch the espionage group’s insurrection activities, from the initial stages of national subversion to insurrection riots, without any knowledge.”
During his tenure, Ha completed a national security studies course at Washington State University’s law school in the United States. He stated, “The U.S. blocks crimes that threaten national security or interests by taking strong legal action as soon as any clues of national interest infringement are discovered, even before espionage crimes fully develop.” He added, “Even countries without the concept of enemy states prioritize protecting national security and interests, and since 2023, there has been a trend of enacting strong punitive laws against all espionage activities that infringe on national security or interests, similar to the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).” The U.S. government mandates that all activities conducted as an ‘agent’ of a foreign government be reported to the Ministry of Justice (DOJ) through FARA. In contrast, South Korea has repeatedly failed to pass related legislation, leaving no effective means to control individuals acting under the direction of foreign governments, such as China, who approach the government or National Assembly with specific objectives.
◇ Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)
Short for the “Foreign Agents Registration Act.” It is a federal law requiring all individuals residing in the U.S., including foreigners, to register with the U.S. Ministry of Justice and report their activities if they work for the policies or interests of foreign governments, institutions, corporations, etc. Enacted in 1938 with the purpose of transparently identifying activities that could influence U.S. government policies. Recently, there have been criticisms that its scope of application is excessively broad and vague.
