South Korea broadens espionage law to cover all foreign states. The National Assembly passed an amendment expanding the Criminal Act's espionage statute beyond North Korea to include all foreign countries. Individuals who detect, collect, leak, or transmit state secrets for any foreign government now face at least three years in prison. The revision closes a legal gap that existed for over seven decades, as the original 1953 law only applied to acts benefiting North Korea. This expansion reshapes South Korea's national security framework and intelligence operations, potentially strengthening the National Intelligence Service's role as counterespionage investigations become more prevalent across multiple nations.
