A man in his 40s who received virtual assets worth 660 million won from a North Korean agent and collected personal details and movements of North Korean defectors and active-duty soldiers was sentenced to five years in prison.
According to legal sources, on the 5th the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement Division 21 (Presiding Judge Jo Sun-pyo) recently sentenced A, 43, who was indicted on charges including espionage under the National Security Act, to five years in prison and five years of disqualification.
A, who ran a virtual asset investment company, was found to have received instructions via Telegram in May–June 2021 from a North Korean agent to identify the personal information and activity history of North Korean defectors engaged in anti-North activities. In the process, it was also found that A received virtual assets worth about 660 million won from the agent as purported investment operating funds.
A proposed sponsorship to B, head of a defector group, had B create a virtual asset wallet, and then passed the wallet address to the North Korean agent. When the agent sent bitcoin worth about 1 million won as a purported donation, A used it to obtain from B photos and videos of the group's leaflet-sending event to the North.
A also approached a YouTuber defector who had served in the North Korean State Security Department and secured contact information. A was found to have proposed a meeting to the YouTuber, saying there was interest in North Korean human rights issues, and obtained the mobile phone number.
The collection of military-related information continued. In July 2021, A was found to have received from a North Korean agent the names, affiliated units, and resident registration numbers of seven active-duty officers, along with instructions to identify additional information and recruit them.
Among them, A accessed Captain C's social media and obtained photos of the uniform and face. A then commissioned a private investigator to tail C to check personal life details and paid bitcoin worth about 2.5 million won as a fee.
The private investigator identified C's affiliated unit, official residence, apartment unit, schedule, and movements, and reported them to A.
There was also evidence of directly approaching another active-duty officer. In August–September 2021, A contacted an officer via Telegram and proposed paying compensation in exchange for information such as the military organization chart, but was refused.
The court found that the information A collected constituted secrets worthy of protection under the National Security Act, noting that if it were to be passed to North Korea, it could be used to harm defectors or their families.
The court explained, "If photos, contact information, and activity status of defectors engaged in anti-North activities become known to North Korea, they could be used for tracking or harming those defectors and for retaliation against their families in the North," and said the information carries practical protective value.
In sentencing, the court weighed heavily that A received more than 600 million won in virtual assets from a North Korean agent and engaged in acts benefiting the enemy according to instructions. The court noted that A denies the crimes and continues to offer unconvincing excuses, making it hard to find genuine remorse.
A had previously faced a separate trial on charges of leaking military secrets after approaching an active-duty officer under instructions from the same North Korean agent. In that case, the Supreme Court finalized a sentence of four years in prison and four years of disqualification in Dec. 2025.