Arrest Warrant Requested for Sky Daily Reporter Over '99 Chinese Spies Arrested' Article

Police have requested an arrest warrant for a Sky Daily reporter who wrote an article claiming that, during the 12·3 Martial Law, martial law troops arrested 99 Chinese spies at the Election Training Institute.

The Cyber Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 20th that it had applied for an arrest warrant for a Sky Daily reporter, identified as Heo, on charges including obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means.

According to police, Heo is accused of interfering with the operations of the National Election Commission (NEC) by publishing a false article.

Sky Daily, a domestic online media outlet, reported on January 16 under the headline "99 Chinese Arrested at Election Training Institute Transferred to US Military Base in Japan" that "the South Korean and US military authorities transferred Chinese spies arrested at the Suwon NEC office in Gyeonggi Province to a US military base in Japan."

At the time, the National Election Commission and the United States Forces Korea Command completely refuted the report, and on January 20, the NEC requested a police investigation into Sky Daily and the reporter on charges including obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means and defamation.

Subsequently, it was revealed that a supporter of former President Yoon, identified as Ahn (42), was the informant for the Sky Daily article. Ahn, who was also known as "Captain Korea" for wearing a Captain America costume, carried forged identification cards from major overseas agencies such as the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. However, it was found that he had actually been discharged as a sergeant from the army and had never visited the United States. Ahn is currently on trial after being arrested and indicted on charges of causing disturbances at the Chinese Embassy in Korea and the Namdaemun Police Station in Seoul.