North Korea is the country one might think of first during a discussion about intelligence and the risks of a possible intelligence failure, but what are the risks from intelligence missteps right here in South Korea?

About three dozen researchers, executives and foreign envoys of countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa attended a luncheon lecture on the risks associated with intelligence failure during the Asia Society Korea Center’s March luncheon lecture at the ASEAN-Korea Centre in Seoul on Tuesday.

Daniel Pinkston, Northeast Asia deputy project director for the International Crisis Group in Seoul, discussed the “Risks of Intelligence Failure in the ROK and Why It Matters.”

Pinkston said there are three types of so-called “intelligence pathologies,” one is “intelligence failure” and another is “intelligence politicization.”

He described the third type of intelligence pathology as one that takes place from intervention by the intelligence services in the domestic politics of a nation, for example, a coup d’etat toppling a government or the rigging of a democratic election.

While Pinkston did not say whether South Korea’s intelligence services risk being infected with one of these “pathologies,” he suggested that reform might be needed for the sake of prevention.

“Say, in fact the allegations are true that you had human resources engaging in activities, such as writing on blogs and posting comments on a candidate. Is that a good use of resources?” Pinkston asked.

“There is an opportunity cost, right? I talked with guys who are working really hard to prevent sabotage and attacks, doing what I would consider serious and legitimate pursuits of that organization. I don’t want to see a terrorist attack on the subway system,” he said. “But if you are allocating some of your resources to what I would call ‘monkey business,’ or this political stuff, in intervening in domestic politics, then what are the costs of misallocating resources?”

The Crisis Group plans to release a report on South Korea’s intelligence risks soon.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)