An elderly Chinese man bought used books for 1,000 won, which turned out to be 'military secrets'... A total of 200 volumes seized

Two Military Personnel Sold Classified Materials Violating Destruction Procedures
Confidential Documents Weighing a Total of 30kg Sold as Scrap

China's counterintelligence agency revealed a case where an elderly man purchased secondhand books at a low price, which turned out to be military secrets, raising awareness about national security.

Photo capture posted on the official WeChat account of the Ministry of State Security of China [Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 13th, China's Ministry of State Security posted an article titled "Secrets and 6 Yuan" on its official WeChat account, a social networking service (SNS). According to the post, Mr. Jang, who retired from a state-owned institution, one day found a snake-skin bag full of paper books at a junk shop. He selected four books and paid the owner 6 yuan (about 1,134 won).

After returning home and examining the books, Mr. Jang noticed covers labeled "Confidential" and "Secret," which aroused his suspicion. As a military history enthusiast, he concluded that he had purchased state secrets and called the counterintelligence agency to send the books.

Officials from the counterintelligence agency and police arrived at the scene, recovered and handled all classified materials, and conducted an investigation into the junk shop owner. The investigation revealed that the classified materials had been sold to the junk shop by two secret agents from a military unit.

They violated disposal procedures and sold eight sets of classified materials, totaling over 200 volumes, as junk. It is reported that they sold about 30 kg of classified materials and received approximately 20 yuan (3,780 won). The Ministry of State Security did not disclose when the incident occurred or what punishments the two individuals received.

Regarding this, the Associated Press pointed out, "Due to China's opaque legal system, it is often difficult to determine what is classified as a state secret," and added, "There have been cases where foreign consulting firms in China were investigated by security agencies simply for possessing economic information considered public records in other countries."