Ruling party chief Han Dong-hoon said Wednesday he will push to revise current espionage laws to punish people for divulging state secrets not only to “enemy countries” but all “foreign countries.”

Han of the People Power Party (PPP) made the remark during a debate held at the National Assembly, saying he will also push to restore the National Intelligence Service’s right to investigate suspected anti-communist law violations.

The two tasks will be pursued as part of the party’s platform, he said.

“There is no country in the world that punishes people only for spying for enemy countries,” Han said, referring to South Korea’s current espionage laws that only punish the act of transferring state secrets to “enemy countries.”

“We are unable to properly protect our national interest,” he said.

Calls have grown to legislate a law similar to the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) after Sue Mi Terry, a renowned Korean American foreign policy expert, was indicted last month on charges of acting as an u
nregistered agent for the South Korean government from 2013 until last year. Terry is accused of conspiring to violate FARA.

Source: Yonhap News Agency