South Korean media reported on Tuesday (November 11) that a South Korean Army sergeant has been sentenced to five years in prison for leaking confidential information about the US-South Korea joint military exercises to the Chinese military. The soldier, of Korean-Chinese descent, is the grandson of a retired Chinese Rocket Army officer from 2005.
According to the court verdict, the soldier, referred to as A, made contact with personnel from the Chinese intelligence organization during his vacation in Beijing in August 2024 and was recruited as an intelligence agent. He promised to provide military secrets to China through an IP transmission program on his phone.
Subsequently, following orders, A transmitted information on the US-South Korea “Ulchi Freedom Guardian” (UFG) joint military exercises to the Chinese intelligence organization, including details about US military bases in South Korea, troop augmentation plans, and key locations that could potentially be targeted by enemy precision strikes.
The leaked information also included personal details of the leaders responsible for the US-South Korea joint military exercises, such as their units, ranks, names, contact information, as well as directories of various manuals at the US-South Korea Joint Forces Command. In return, from August 2024 to February 2025, A received a total of 88,000 RMB (approximately $13,000) in seven installments from the Chinese intelligence department.
A was charged with treason, violating military discipline, bribery following improper conduct, violating the Information and Communication Network Law, and the Prostitution Punishment Law.
The court ruling on Tuesday stated, “If an active-duty serviceman agrees to join an organization that threatens South Korea’s security while carrying out national defense duties, they must be punished accordingly.”
The verdict mentioned, “Considering his entry into China, three contacts with the (intelligence) organization members, receipt of significant rewards, and bringing equipment into the base without permission to assist in the crime, his criminal nature is particularly severe. This was a carefully planned crime.”
The court decision stated, “The defendant has no prior criminal record and has admitted guilt and expressed remorse. These factors were taken into account in determining the sentence.”
Ultimately, the court sentenced A to five years in prison and ordered the confiscation of the illegally obtained 88,000 RMB.
Even though the leaked military information was extensive, as China is not officially categorized as an enemy country in South Korean law, the prosecution did not invoke relevant laws on espionage or treason.
A was born in China in 2003, with a South Korean father and Chinese mother. He was arrested on April 18 and charged with “ordinary aiding the enemy” in mid-May.
It was reported that A grew up in Beijing with his grandparents and briefly resided in South Korea for about five months in 2008.
The indictment stated that after enlisting in the Army in December 2023 as an active-duty soldier serving as a supply soldier in frontline units, A, posted photos of himself in military uniform on Chinese social media. This caught the attention of a team under the Tianjin office of the Joint Staff Department Intelligence Bureau of the Chinese military.