3 intel officers arrested for hacking

A senior noncommissioned officer from the country’s counterintelligence unit has been arrested for ordering two subordinates to hack into a university professor’s e-mail account, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.

The officer at the Defense Security Command, a sergeant major surnamed Han, was arrested Tuesday for ordering a sergeant first class and a civilian working at the unit to hack into the e-mail of a professor at Chosun University, located in Gwangju.

The sergeant first class and the civilian, surnamed Jang and Kim, were arrested last Friday for their role in the hacking.

“The two early arrests were made on charges of violating the law related to communications and information protection,” a ministry official said. “The sergeant major was arrested for abetting the violation of the same law.”

The military police at the counterintelligence unit and Gwangju police launched their joint investigation into the case last month. Gwangju police had alleged that Jang and Kim stole the professor’s user name and password for his school’s portal site and read the professor’s e-mails. Police also said the two changed the professor’s password for his e-mail account and hacked into the account on three occasions between Aug. 29 and Sept. 2.

The ministry said another civilian counterintelligence agent, surnamed Han, has been booked without detention for aiding the hacking.

The ministry said Han, of no relation to the arrested noncommissioned officer, turned himself in on Tuesday for helping Kim hack into the account.

The ministry official said further details on the incident, including the motive behind hacking, will not be known until the conclusion of the joint investigation.

Yonhap