Defense ministry renames military security unit in revised conscription rules

The defense ministry said it revised its conscription enforcement rules to replace references to the prosecution service with the newly created prosecution office and to rename a military security command.

The amendment to the enforcement rules of the Military Service Act, which took effect the same day, changes the personal information consent section of a conscription form. Where the form once referred to the Defense Security Command, it now refers to the Defense Security Support Group. In the same section, which lists the information provided for background checks, "prosecution service" has been replaced with "prosecution office."

The revision follows the enactment of the Prosecution Service Act and the Serious Crime Investigation Bureau Organization and Operation Act, both promulgated on March 24, 2026 and effective Oct. 2, along with an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act promulgated Aug. 4, 2026. The country's prosecution service was abolished on Oct. 2, split into a new prosecution office under the justice minister and a serious crime investigation bureau under the interior minister, separating the power to investigate from the power to indict. The Serious Crime Investigation Bureau opened with about 1,900 staff, including its deputy chief and six regional office heads.

"We will firmly maintain cooperation among the relevant agencies even after the launch of the investigation bureau and the prosecution office, and carry out joint investigations without gaps," Lim Ki-keun, the head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said earlier.