Malicious influence activities, where foreign actors manipulate information behind the scenes and covertly recruit politically or socially influential figures to sway elections, policy decisions, or public opinion in other states, pose a serious threat to national security. Countering this threat is crucial to safeguarding democratic political systems and ensuring national security. To address agents representing foreign powers, many states are increasingly adopting or strengthening legislation similar to the United States’ Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the United Kingdom’s Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) under the National Security Act, Australia’s Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act (FITS), and the European Union’s Transparency Register.

Conversely, the South Korean legal system remains outdated, primarily focusing on protecting national and military secrets through Article 98 (“Spy”) of the Criminal Act and the National Security Act. The current legal framework lacks laws to regulate or penalize malicious influence activities by foreign powers. A partial amendment to the Criminal Act, aimed at revising the “spy” provision, and a new bill concerning the registration of foreign agents have been proposed to the 22nd National Assembly and are currently under review.

This article is an English Summary of Asan Issue Brief (2024-36).

(‘외국의 악성 영향력 활동에 대한 대응: 한국형 외국대리인등록법의 필요성’)