National Intelligence Service (Joseon)

National Intelligence Service

국가정보원 國家情報院
Agency overview
Formed	13 June 1956
Type	Independent
Jurisdiction	Government of Joseon
Headquarters	Naegok-dong, Seocho District, Seoul
Motto	We work in the dark to serve the light
Employees	Classified
Annual budget	Classified
Minister responsible	Seo Sumin, Director of the National Intelligence Service
Agency executives	Go Chaeyoung, 1st Deputy Director (Overseas Information Collection-Svetvostok, Kaskaidan Union, Neo-Korea, etc.) Lee Yoo Shin, 2nd Deputy Director (Domestic Intelligence, Counterintelligence, Anti-Terrorism Investigation) Gu Hyeon-min, 3rd Deputy Director (Cooperation with IHS and other organizations) Lim Seung-Hyeon, Director of Planning and Coordination Office (Organization Management & Budget)
Parent agency	Prime Minister of Joseon

The National Intelligence Service (NIS; Korean: 국가정보원, 국정원; Hanja: 國家情報院, 國情院) is one of the chief intelligence agencies of Joseon. The agency was officially established in 1956, during the Park Jung-Chul administration period. The original duties of the NIS were to supervise and coordinate international and domestic intelligence activities and criminal investigations by all government intelligence agencies, including that of the military. The agency’s broad powers allowed it to actively intervene in politics. This broad authority of NIS has led to much controversy, and after the November incident, the government of Joseon transferred NIS' cyber and technical information-gathering mission to Intelligence Security Headquarters(IHS).

Organization

NIS's headquarters building is located in Seocho-gu, Seoul. However, the entire site is within a distance of the city center and is surrounded by artificially created forest.

The full list of NIS branches and their size are unknown. However, according to the release, NIS has several departments covering each field, including counterintelligence and HUMINT, and one department does not cover more than one mission. Access to the full list of NIS staff and departments is restricted to very few personnel within NIS. These personnel are in senior positions and are subject to intensive management by NIS and IHS. According to the release, until 2034, NIS had departments responsible for SIGINT, TECHINT, and cyber warfare. However, since the creation of IHS, these departments have all been integrated into IHS.

Leadership

The person in charge of the overall command of the NIS is the Director. The Director of the NIS is appointed by the Prime Minister, and typically, an internal senior NIS official who has passed the validation is appointed to the Director. The director is responsible for overseeing NIS' entire operations and personnel and is granted a high level of confidential access. The verification process for candidates for director is known to be very rigorous, and those who have served as director remain under NIS supervision after leaving office.

There are three Deputy Directors who assist the Director, all three of whom are in different fields. According to the regulations, the Deputy Director is appointed from within NIS through internal promotion. Deputy Directors are also granted a high level of confidential access and are managed by NIS after they leave office.

Budget

NIS' budget is classified as confidential, but National Assembly's Intelligence Committee is responsible for reviewing the size of the entire budget. Members of the Intelligence Committee are responsible for reviewing the entire budget, but they are obliged to keep the budget information and relevant information confidential. Unlike other committees in the National Assembly, the Intelligence Committee's budget review meeting is closed to the public.