South Korea’s parliament has passed the country’s first anti-terror bill, with opposition lawmakers leaving the plenary chamber after ending the nine-day marathon speeches. Among almost 300 parliamentary seats, only 156 ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers and one minority party member participated in a vote on the country’s first anti-terrorism legislation, which was passed through the National Assembly with 156 in favour. The bill, which was first brought up in South Korea in 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US, had repeatedly failed to be enacted due to worries about abuse of power by the country’s spy agency.

The anti-terror legislation will allow National Intelligence Service (NIS) agents to collect personal information, location and conversation in mobile phones from suspected terrorists, while enabling the agency to track bank accounts and immigration records of the suspects.

New clauses for criminal prosecution have also been added under the Bill: Those who form a “terror organisation” can face capital punishment, life imprisonment, or over 10 years incarceration; those who plan an act of terror faces life imprisonment or over 7 years incarceration; and those who join a foreign terrorist group face over 5 years imprisonment.

Opposition lawmakers had opposed to the bill as it will cause the abuse of power by the NIS, which has a history of spying on civilians and journalists and interfering with politics.