Lawmakers are queuing to submit bills to reform the National Intelligence Service, an issue that has see little progress over decades due to persistent ideological divides.

Many of the latest calls for reform are a repeat of previous measures that generally were put on the back burner, as neither the agency nor political circles were bold enough to let go of their vested interests.

The resurgent reform drive is expected to continue for the time being as the NIS has announced it will prepare its own self-reform measures, while the rival parties have vowed to tackle the agency once the parliamentary audit on its alleged attempt to interfere in presidential election is completed.

The main opposition Democratic Party is currently taking the lead in drawing up the measures, aiming to tighten the screws on the agency’s political involvement and restrict its investigative rights.

DP’s Rep. Lee Won-wook’s bill, for instance, would obligate all NIS officials to blow the whistle on any political interference attempt by their own agency. Any member who turns a blind eye on a wrongdoing would face imprisonment of up to five years.

Reps. Min Byung-doo and Jin Sung-joon each submitted bills to remove the statute of limitations for the NIS’ political interference, restrict its investigative rights and abolish the agency’s collection of domestic intelligence, respectively.

Rep. Jin Sun-mee reportedly plans to submit similar bills, which would also include fortifying the Assembly’s control of its budget use.

Some of the ruling Saenuri Party members have also joined in.

Rep. Cho Won-jin proposed introducing a term limit for NIS chiefs and appointment by the National Assembly. He also suggested disbanding the agency’s domestic intelligence division and adopting a “one strike” system for political interference.

Senior members such as Reps. Lee Jae-oh and Chung Mong-joon are reportedly proposing splitting up the domestic intelligence division as well.

But the mainstream Saenuri members appear more reluctant for all-out reform, with many opposing the abolishment of the agency’s investigative right or its domestic division.

“The NIS should draw up its own reform version to some extent, upon which the ruling and opposition parties can prepare measures through discussion for the sake of the agency’s political neutrality,” the party’s senior vice floor leader Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun said at a press conference earlier this month. The reform measures are likely to start taking shape around September.

Calls to reform the NIS have been escalating since the 1980s as the country moved from military rule to civilian government.

Officially launched in 1961 during the rule of former President Park Chung-hee, the then-named the Central Intelligence Agency managed international and domestic intelligence activities and oversaw the prosecution and police’ criminal investigations, giving it significant political power. It soon surpassed its original role by curbing anti-government forces and meddling in government planning, personnel and promotion activities.

The name was changed to the Agency for National Security Planning in 1981 and again to NIS in 1999 as calls to curtail its power continued.

But reform drives usually lost momentum after a new administration settled in, as each government ― including the liberal ones ― found the domestic intelligence-gathering function too sensitive and effective to dabble with.

Former President Roh Moo-hyun’s initial attempt to divide the agency’s domestic intelligence function from the international and North Korea divisions was opposed by those who argued that it is difficult to separate them especially at times of higher terrorism risk, and that a separation would only create two giant organizations.

The agency has also shown some intention for self-reform along the way, such as in 1993 when it established a regulation for its investigators to abide by the lawful investigative procedure and punishing abuse of one’s authority.

The reform moves often met the dilemma that there is only a paper-thin difference between North Korea-related investigation and other domestic cases depending on how they are interpreted as damaging to the national interest.

Upon his designation as NIS chief in March this year, Nam Jae-joon said during a confirmation hearing, “The NIS that has the expertise and is well informed of the intentions of North Korea must maintain its investigative rights.”

Underscoring that North Korea continues to wage psychological warfare, he said the most important task at this point is to bolster the people’s determination and block an invasion of tactical strategies.

Politicians and observers now are expressing their similarly low expectations for an immediate reform.

“What needs to be changed is not the external organization reform but the philosophy of the members,” said Saenuri Party Rep. Kim Hoe-sun, who was the agency’s second deputy chief.

Independent Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo criticized both parties for “corrupting the NIS into a political tool” and said, “We must think about whether even the progressive forces, after years of oppression, succumbed to the sweet intelligence offered by the NIS upon acquiring power.”

Dongguk University law professor Han Hee-won reminded the NIS’ fundamental role during a TV debate on July 15.

“We must be careful to stave off from thinking that it would be possible to operate the country and establish policies without state intelligence. (Rather than the primitive question of maintaining or abolishing it) the agency must become the country’s best state research organization that unceasingly produces national intelligence.”

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)