Possibility That the Ringleader Is Affiliated with the Chinese Military
Investigation Expands
A group of Chinese nationals attempting to extract military secrets by approaching active-duty soldiers has been detected, prompting military authorities to launch an investigation.
According to the military on the 3rd, the Defense Counterintelligence Command arrested a Chinese national identified as A in late last month in Jeju and is investigating him on charges of violating the Military Secrets Protection Act.
The group including A infiltrated public chat rooms with active-duty soldiers since early last year by posing as military personnel. They reportedly tried to recruit chat room members by offering money in exchange for military secrets through one-on-one conversations.
It is known that an active-duty soldier serving at a unit in Yanggu, Gangwon Province, was recruited during this process. The soldier brought an unauthorized mobile phone into the unit, took photos of internal documents such as plans for the Korea-U.S. joint exercises, and passed them to A’s group. An investigation is currently underway.
A reportedly entered South Korea to deliver payment to the informant and was arrested.
The Counterintelligence Command arrested A after receiving reports of suspicious individuals attempting to extract secrets in public chat rooms. Through the investigation, they have identified that the organization's leader is in China and have found indications that the individual may be affiliated with the Chinese military, leading to an expanded investigation.
A military official stated, "Due to the ongoing investigation, we are limited in disclosing detailed information."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
