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Chinese national indicted for conspiring to steal Korean military secrets

Published: 25 Apr. 2025, 20:48 Updated: 27 Apr. 2025, 20:09

The Supreme Prosecutor's Office in Seocho District, southern Seoul [NEWS1]

Prosecutors indicted a Chinese national on charges of conspiring with Chinese intelligence to acquire classified South Korean military information using covert devices and anonymous exchanges with active-duty soldiers.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said Friday it had indicted the suspect, who remains in custody, on charges of violating the Military Secrets Protection Act.

Prosecutors allege that the suspect approached South Korean soldiers five times between May 2023 and March this year in an attempt to gather classified military data.

Working with a Chinese intelligence agent, the suspect is accused of identifying potential targets through open chat rooms on social media platforms, offering payments in exchange for confidential information.

Investigators said the suspect used various espionage tools, including wristwatch-type hidden cameras, in the operation. The Chinese national allegedly sent the devices to soldiers or used “dead drops”— a covert method where one party leaves an item at a designated location for the other to later retrieve — in order to exchange military documents and compensation.

South Korea’s Defense Security Command arrested the suspect on March 29. Prosecutors then took over the case for further investigation.

Authorities say at least one active-duty soldier was recruited by the suspect. The soldier reportedly smuggled an unauthorized mobile phone onto a military base and used it to photograph internal documents, including plans for a joint South Korea-U.S. exercise.

Prosecutors clarified that the Chinese national could not be charged under South Korea’s criminal law on espionage, which only applies to activities on behalf of an enemy state such as North Korea. Instead, they indicted the suspect under the Military Secrets Protection Act.

While the act carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison — less severe than the life imprisonment or death penalty stipulated under the espionage statute — sentences can be increased by up to 50 percent when the offender is a foreign national.

“We will do our utmost to maintain the indictment and will continue to respond firmly to threats against national security,” the prosecution said in a statement.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY LEE JI-YOUNG [[email protected]]