Soldier who sold information to Chinese official sentenced to prison by military court
Published: 11 Nov. 2025, 21:10
![A Korean soldier at an army camp [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/11/e3095283-0f91-47a3-90c1-ada3dd8383cb.jpg)
A Korean soldier at an army camp [YONHAP]
A Korean soldier who passed military information to a Chinese government official was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday, according to the military court.
The third regional military court also ordered the soldier, identified as a sergeant, to forfeit the 18 million won ($12,200) he had received in exchange for the intelligence.
The soldier was born and raised in China but holds Korean citizenship. His mother is Chinese, and his maternal grandfather is a former high-ranking officer in the Chinese military, according to the court. He received the money through Alipay, a Chinese digital payment platform.
From August 2024 to March of this year, the sergeant accessed the Defense Ministry's internal network and leaked information such as the names and locations of U.S. military bases in Korea and potential high-value targets for enemy strikes. He was arrested and indicted for leaking classified information, compromising military discipline and accepting bribes.
During the trial, the soldier claimed he believed the recipient was a researcher at a government institute and did not know they were affiliated with the Chinese government. The court rejected this defense, citing evidence that the soldier searched for U.S. and Chinese intelligence agencies after meeting the recipient, and he reportedly admitted during questioning that he suspected the person could be connected to Chinese intelligence.
The court also noted that the Chinese official possessed documents leaked by the soldier while attempting to recruit another Korean soldier on active duty.
While the court determined the documents were not officially classified at the “secret” level, it ruled that the soldier nonetheless harmed Korea’s military interests by agreeing to hand over sensitive material in exchange for payment. Some charges were dismissed because certain materials were accessible via the military’s intranet or lacked sufficiently specific content.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM CHUL-WOONG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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