Military Intelligence Civilian Employee Who Leaked Secret Agent List Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

A civilian employee A of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces Intelligence Command, who leaked classified information including military secret agent information, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the first trial.

The Central Regional Military Court on the morning of the 21st sentenced civilian employee A to 20 years in prison and a fine of 1.2 billion won. A confiscation order of 162.05 million won was also issued.

The court stated, "The defendant is recognized to have leaked multiple secrets including military level 2 secrets, and despite having a duty of integrity, repeatedly demanded and received money in return."

Furthermore, the court emphasized, "The leaked military secrets included personal information of dispatched intelligence officers, and the leakage of these secrets clearly posed risks to the lives and physical freedom of the intelligence officers, as well as causing losses by preventing the officers from further utilizing the time and effort they invested in intelligence gathering."

The court also pointed out, "The defendant claims to have committed the crime under duress due to threats against family members, but there is no evidence supporting this. On the contrary, the defendant actively demanded money, making it difficult to easily believe this claim."

Meanwhile, civilian employee A was arrested and indicted in August last year on charges of leaking military secrets while receiving money multiple times since 2019 after being recruited by a suspected Chinese intelligence agent. Earlier, the military prosecution had requested a life sentence, a fine of 800 million won, and confiscation of 162.05 million won for A at the sentencing hearing last month.