The defense ministry will seek to disband the Defense Counterintelligence Command embroiled in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's 2024 botched martial law bid, officials said Thursday, in what would mark the command's dissolution after 49 years upon completion. The command is suspected of having played a key role in Yoon's short-lived martial law imposition in December 2024, with its former commander standing trial for allegedly deploying troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission on the night of the martial law attempt. It is also suspected of organizing troops to detain around 10 key politicians, including the then leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties as well as the National Assembly speaker. While the command tasked with counterintelligence activities has been renamed several times under different governments amid criticism over its influential role, it marks the first time the command will be dismantled since its establishment in 1977. "We have advised the constructive dismantling of the Defense Counterintelligence Command and transferring or remo