South Korea security-tech plan raises surveillance concerns
· UPIJune 29 (Asia Today) -- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's call for a government-backed technology investment organization modeled on the United States' In-Q-Tel has raised expectations that the National Intelligence Service will take a larger role in developing the country's security industry.
The proposal would combine government funding and intelligence resources with technologies developed by private companies, potentially giving national agencies access to advanced artificial intelligence and big-data analysis systems.
However, the plan is also raising concerns that expanding the intelligence agency's technological capabilities could lead to excessive surveillance and misuse of personal data.
Lee announced the initiative Friday during a strategy meeting at the presidential office on fostering companies specializing in emerging national security technologies.
"We intend to foster innovative security companies that possess advanced technologies in artificial intelligence, drones, cybersecurity, aerospace and other fields," Lee said.
Lee cited the U.S. companies In-Q-Tel, Palantir Technologies and Anduril Industries as examples.
"Like the CIA's In-Q-Tel model, we will expand strategic government investment in the security industry by establishing a Korean version of In-Q-Tel," Lee said. "We will provide strong support so domestic startups and venture companies can emerge as leaders in the security market, as Palantir and Anduril have."
National Intelligence Service Director Lee Jong-seok attended the meeting.
In-Q-Tel is an independent nonprofit strategic investment organization established by the CIA in 1999. It was created to identify innovative private-sector technologies that conventional intelligence agencies, constrained by bureaucracy and secrecy, might struggle to develop internally.
The organization invests in startups working in areas such as artificial intelligence, big data and cybersecurity, helping make their technologies available to U.S. intelligence and national security agencies.
Palantir, founded in 2003 and backed by In-Q-Tel during its early development, produces data-analysis platforms used by U.S. defense, intelligence and law enforcement agencies for purposes including counterterrorism investigations and crime analysis.
Because the CIA played a central role in establishing In-Q-Tel and supporting Palantir's early growth, observers expect South Korea's intelligence agency to play a leading role in planning and operating a similar domestic program.
Under such a model, the National Intelligence Service could finance private technology companies, gain access to their AI and big-data capabilities and incorporate those systems into government intelligence networks.
The potential integration of private-sector technology into national security systems, however, has prompted continuing criticism over privacy and government surveillance.
A 2022 Temple University study titled "The Seer and the Seen: Surveying Palantir's Surveillance Platform" examined the use of Palantir systems by agencies including the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The study said Palantir technology had been used in immigration enforcement operations to track undocumented immigrants, collect evidence and support deportation proceedings.
It cited a 2019 operation in Mississippi involving 680 migrant workers as a prominent example. The researchers said Palantir's broad data-analysis capabilities could be combined with government authority to create platforms capable of recording, tracking and controlling information about individuals.
South Korean security specialists said transparent oversight measures will be essential to prevent the intelligence agency's authority from expanding without adequate checks.
"The National Intelligence Service's funding and intelligence capabilities could make a positive contribution to developing advanced private-sector technologies," a South Korean security policy expert said. "However, a thorough system of mutual oversight must be established to ensure that this does not lead to surveillance of civilians or misuse of data."
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260628010009793