A Chinese organization was found to have approached active-duty soldiers to extract military secrets, including the schedule of the Korea-U.S. joint exercises, prompting military authorities to launch an investigation.
According to military authorities on the 3rd, the Military Counterintelligence Command is investigating A, a Chinese national who was arrested in Jeju on the 29th of last month on suspicion of violating the Military Secrets Protection Act. A is suspected of trying to entice active-duty soldiers by offering monetary compensation in exchange for military secrets while participating in an open chat room that shares information related to military life since early last year.
During this process, an active-duty soldier belonging to a unit in Yanggu, Gangwon Province, was successfully enticed and brought an unauthorized mobile phone into the unit, through which plans for the Korea-U.S. joint exercises and other materials were captured and transmitted to A's side. A was reportedly arrested after entering the country to provide compensation to the source of the secrets.
The Counterintelligence Command was reported to have arrested A after receiving reports of suspicious individuals attempting to extract secrets in a public chat room. The Command has expanded the investigation upon discovering that the organization's mastermind may be based in China and could be affiliated with the Chinese military.
A Ministry of National Defense official noted, 'Details are currently under investigation, so responses are limited.'