Tag: Spies

I would hope that ROK counterintelligence agents would be keeping close tabs on any ROK Soldier with ties to China to prevent spying like this:

A South Korean soldier raised in China has been arrested on suspicion of leaking classified military information about joint U.S.-South Korean exercises to Chinese intelligence agents, prosecutors said this month. The 22-year-old army supply specialist, whose name has not been released, was arrested April 18 and charged with leaking military secrets and accepting bribes from foreign agents, according to a redacted indictment filed May 15 by the Military Prosecutors’ Office in Gangwon District.

Prosecutors allege the soldier transmitted information — including details related to Ulchi Freedom Shield, a large-scale joint military exercise with the United States — to China’s Intelligence Bureau of the Joint Staff Department. The leaked documents reportedly contained sensitive details such as base names, troop schedules and logistical capabilities, along with participating troops’ personal information. The soldier allegedly received about $12,215 via the Chinese digital payment platform Alipay, according to the 15-page indictment.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but this guy had major red flags, he was raised in China by his grandfather who is a retired Soldier and went to college in China as well. While serving in the ROK military he made repeated trips back to China.

Well at least the ROK and the U.S. will know where the Chinese spies will be working out of:

The Chinese government owns 11 plots of land in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, which sit between 1 and 1.5 kilometers from the proposed future site of the US Embassy and South Korea’s current presidential office, according to a local media report Wednesday.

Asia Business Daily reported that the People’s Republic of China acquired ownership of the land spanning 4,100 square meters in December 2018 for about 29.9 billion won ($21.9 million). It marked the first time that a foreign government’s direct land purchase in the Yongsan area was disclosed to the public.

The properties are at the southern foot of Namsan, just before entering Namsan Tunnels No. 2 and 3 from Noksapyeong-daero in Itaewon-dong. The site previously operated as an outdoor golf driving range for more than 40 years but shut down around the time the land changed hands. Several buildings on the site remain unoccupied.

The Itaewon-dong location sits approximately 1 to 1.5 kilometers from the current presidential office in Samgakji, current presidential residence in Hannam-dong, and the former Camp Coiner site — the designated location for the new US Embassy — all in the district of Yongsan-gu.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but according to the article the Chinese government is responsible for 64.9% of foreign real estate transactions in South Korea.

The article doesn’t say, but how did these two guys secretly enter Osan Airbase?:

South Korean police arrested two Taiwanese men over the weekend for allegedly entering Osan Air Base without authorization during a U.S.-South Korean military open house and filming the event, according to local media.

The pair, identified as being in their 40s and 60s, were taken into custody Sunday after attending the Air Power Days event on Saturday, Yonhap News reported Monday, citing the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency.

The air base, about 30 miles south of Seoul, is home to the U.S. 7th Air Force and the South Korean air force’s operations command. Security procedures for the event required all visitors to bring a form of government identification and check in at the base’s front gate. South Korean visitors were required to have a driver’s license or student ID; foreigners unaffiliated with the U.S. military needed to have a passport.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but Chinese and Taiwanese nationals were forbidden from entering the airbase and some how these two still got in.

China is using all manner of Chinese nationals in South Korea to spy on ROK military facilities:

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported 11 incidents of unauthorized filming of military facilities in Korea by Chinese nationals since June of last year, according to lawmakers Wednesday.

The revelation came during a closed-door meeting between the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee and the NIS, according to Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the People Power Party and Rep. Kim Byung-kee of the Democratic Party of Korea.

On June 25, 2024, three Chinese nationals were caught flying a drone toward the Naval Operations Command in the southern port city of Busan, taking photos of an aircraft carrier docked at the base.

The NIS noted that these 11 cases of unauthorized filming were primarily carried out by temporary visitors, such as tourists and international students from China, including minors.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It makes you wonder how many other Chinese nationals in South Korea are doing this that haven’t been caught?:

Two Chinese teenagers have been apprehended for illegally filming fighter jets near a major air base in Suwon, police said Monday.

The two Chinese nationals are suspected of using their DSLR camera and mobile phone to film fighter jets landing and taking off from the Air Force’s 10th Fighter Wing at around 3:30 p.m. on March 21, according to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police.

The teenagers face charges of breaching the Protection of Military Bases and Installations Act and have been placed under a travel ban, police said.

They reportedly attend high school in China and entered the country on a tourist visa three days ahead of the incident. 

After discovering multiple photos of fighter jets on their devices, police are conducting a forensic analysis to determine whether similar photos were also taken at other military facilities, airports and ports.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Accordingto the article this person was terminated from their position, I would prefer that this person be sitting in a jail cell instead:

 A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) contractor employee was terminated after attempting to board a flight to South Korea with export-controlled information on nuclear reactor design software, a report showed Monday.

Idaho National Laboratory (INL), one of the DOE’s national laboratories, terminated the person during the reporting period from Oct. 1, 2023 through March 31 last year, the DOE report to Congress said, as questions persist over why South Korea was placed on the DOE’s “Sensitive and Other Designated Countries List (SCL)” in early January.

The information in question is proprietary nuclear reactor design software owned by INL. The DOE’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted a search of the employee’s government email and chat history showing the employee’s knowledge of export control restrictions and communications with a foreign government. 

“This is an ongoing joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations,” the report said.

Hours earlier, Seoul’s foreign ministry said that South Korea’s placement on the SCL was because of a security issue related to a DOE-affiliated research institution rather than a foreign policy matter.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This clearly shows that Chinese intelligence is targeting Chinese-Americans serving in the U.S. military to help with intelligence collection:

Two Army soldiers stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington and a former soldier in Oregon have been accused in separate indictments of sharing classified military information with China, according to the Justice Department. First Lt. Li Tian, a health services administrator serving in Washington, is accused of conspiring with Ruoyu Duan, a former soldier based in Oregon, to gather information secretly about the Army’s operations, including technical manuals, from November 2021 to December 2024.

Tian was tasked with obtaining instructions and manuals for Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles used by the Army and selling them to Duan, who was paid by unknown people in China, according to the Justice Department. Duan served in the Army from 2013 to 2017 and routinely made payments to other security clearance holders and active-duty service members, according to the indictment, though only two soldiers were named in indictments released this week.

A second indictment accuses Sgt. Jian Zhao, a battery supply sergeant assigned to the 17th Field Artillery Brigade in Washington, of obtaining and selling about 20 government hard drives, some marked “SECRET” and “TOP SECRET,” to buyers in China. Zhao received at least $15,000 in payments from August to December 2024.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but it is amazing for how little money these guys are willing to sell out the United States to China. After they finish whatever jail sentence they receive maybe they should be stripiped of U.S. citizenship and deported to China if they like it so much?

This guy is definitely suspicious because what tourist to Korea immediately to the Heolleung and Illeung Royal Tombs after arriving at the airport?:

– A Chinese man was released from police custody after being questioned on suspicion of filming the headquarters of the state spy agency using a drone, police said Monday.

The Chinese national in his 40s was released late Sunday, a day after he was caught by the police for appearing to film the National Intelligence Service (NIS) headquarters in southern Seoul in violation of the Aviation Safety Act.

Police said the man appeared to have filmed the NIS building while taking drone footage of the nearby Heolleung and Illeung Royal Tombs, the historical burial grounds of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). (………..)

The man reportedly told police he was trying to film the royal tombs out of a deep interest in world heritage sites, with plans to film temples and other places in the country as well.

The man was also found to have headed straight to the tombs in a rented car after entering the country through Incheon International Airport on Saturday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but they need to make example of this guy to send a message to anyone flying drones illegally.

Here is some more information about the ROK intelligence agent that was leaking the identity of undercover agents in China:

A military intelligence official indicted for allegedly leaking the identities of undercover South Korean agents has admitted to working for a Chinese operative since 2017, military prosecutors said Wednesday. 
  
The 49-year-old official, who worked for the Defense Intelligence Command before his suspension, initially denied leaking military secrets but eventually told investigators that he was recruited by Chinese intelligence in 2017 during a visit to Yanji, the capital of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, to meet his contacts. 
  
According to military prosecutors, the official claimed he was detained by Chinese officials at the Yanji airport and offered a chance to work for a Chinese intelligence agent in exchange for his family’s safety. 
  
Military prosecutors indicted the official on Tuesday on charges of bribery, aiding the enemy and violating the Military Secrets Protection Act by leaking classified information. 
  
While the official said he began selling military secrets in 2017, prosecutors said they were able to confirm he had received payments since 2019 and leaked classified information since June 2022, two years before counterintelligence officials caught wind of his suspicious activities.

Total payments to the suspect that have been tracked thus far by South Korean counterintelligence amount to 160 million won ($120,000). 
  
Prosecutors said the suspect gathered secrets by taking photos and screenshots of information on computer screens at the Defense Intelligence Command’s headquarters in Seoul, which he then uploaded to a Chinese cloud server at home.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I have to wonder how real the supposed threats to his family were? I would not be surprised if he was looking for money from the start. Considering he only got paid $120,000 he sold out his country for a paltry sum.