Seoul confirms South Korean arrested in Russia for alleged spying

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday that a South Korean national was arrested and is being investigated on suspicion of espionage. This comes after Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported late Monday on the arrest.

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Head of Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos Yuri Borisov during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 11, 2024. [AP/YONHAP]

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday that a South Korean national was arrested and is being investigated on suspicion of espionage.

This comes after Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported late Monday on the arrest, which happened "at the start of the year."

The South Korean government said it is aware of the issue and is providing necessary consular assistance.

The arrest is the first of a South Korean national for alleged espionage in Russia.

TASS, citing local law enforcement authorities on Monday, reported that a South Korean national named Baek Won-soon was identified and detained in an espionage investigation.

Baek is currently being held at Lefortovo Prison, according to TASS.

“After the suspect was arrested in Vladivostok early this year, the court detained him in a precautionary measure and transferred him to Moscow at the end of last month for investigation,” a local law enforcement official told TASS.

On Monday, the Moscow court extended the suspect’s detention until June 15.

“Baek handed over Russian state secrets to a foreign intelligence agency,” TASS quoted the law enforcement official as saying.

North Korean workers at a Russian construction site [JOONGANG PHOTO]

Baek was reportedly a missionary involved in rescue activities for North Korean defectors in Russia, according to JTBC, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Baek had been carrying out missionary activities for North Korean workers after entering Vladivostok from China early this year, according to the JTBC report.

He mainly worked on North Korea-related activities in the Russian Far East, where tens of thousands of North Koreans reportedly work at logging or construction sites.

An acquaintance of Baek’s in the area told JTBC that Beak had been engaged in North Korea-related missionary activities and that “the Russian Federal Security Service came with an arrest warrant and went through formal procedures to book him.”

Baek has been working overseas with a South Korea-based support group for the underprivileged. The organization is said to be discussing whether to participate in activities to free Baek.

Baek’s wife, who initially traveled to Vladivostok with him in January, was also arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service but was released and is said to be currently in Korea, according to the JTBC report.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry is in close contact with Baek's family, an official at the ministry said Tuesday.

If Russia charges Beak with espionage and indicts him, he will likely be sentenced to severe punishment. According to Russian laws, one can face 10 to 20 years in prison if found guilty of espionage.

While South Korea-Russia relations are worsening due to illegal military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, a South Korean national being prosecuted for espionage in Russia could have a negative diplomatic impact.

South Korea was designated an "unfriendly country" by Russia in February last year after Seoul imposed sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

South Korea’s Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said on Feb. 27 that North Korea has supplied Russia with around 6,700 shipping containers filled with munitions in exchange for food and other necessities.

The estimated scale of North Korea’s shipments to Russia is equivalent to approximately 3 million 152-millimeter artillery shells or 500,000 122-millimeter shells.

Baek's arrest and detention is the latest in a series of such cases involving foreigners by Russia since the war in Ukraine, which marked its second anniversary in February.

Russia has been arresting other countries' nationals to use as political leverage, and Baek's arrest could be seen as a warning against Seoul regarding South Korean aid to Ukraine.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]