South Korean soldier involved in leaking confidential information about the US-South Korea joint military exercise to the Chinese military intelligence department was reported by the South Korean news agency on Tuesday. The soldier, identified as a Korean-Chinese mixed-race individual, has a grandfather who served as a retired officer in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force in 2005.
According to the report from the South Korean military prosecution submitted to the National Defense Committee on Monday, soldier A, born in China in 2003, has a Korean father and Chinese mother. He was arrested on April 18 and charged with “ordinary betrayal of the enemy” in mid-May.
It is reported that A grew up in Beijing with his grandparents and only briefly resided in South Korea for about 5 months in 2008.
The indictment stated that in December 2023, A enlisted in the army as an active-duty soldier and served as a supply soldier in a frontline unit. He had posted photos of himself in military uniform on Chinese social media, attracting the attention of a working group under the General Staff Department Intelligence Bureau of the Chinese military.
In August 2024, during his vacation, A had contact with Chinese intelligence personnel in Beijing and was recruited as an informant, promising to provide military secrets to China through an IP transmission program on his phone.
Following instructions, A transmitted information about the US-South Korea “Operation Freedom Shield” joint military exercise, including details about the names of US military bases in South Korea, troop deployment plans, and key locations that could be targets for enemy precision strikes.
The leaked information also included personal details such as the rank, name, and contact information of those in charge of the US-South Korea joint military exercise, as well as various manuals from the joint command.
As compensation, A received a total of 88,000 yuan from the Chinese intelligence department between August 2024 and February 2025.