South Korean official accused of exposing undercover agents turned over to prosecutors

A civilian official of the Korea Defense Intelligence Command (KDIC) accused of leaking the personal information of South Korea's undercover agents overseas to a Chinese national was handed over to military prosecutors on Thursday.

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik listens to questions from Rep. Kim Byung-joo regarding the recent information leak involving a civilian official of the Korea Defense Intelligence Command during a plenary meeting of the National Assembly in western Seoul on Thursday. [NEWS1]

A civilian official of the Korea Defense Intelligence Command (KDIC) accused of leaking the personal information of South Korea's undercover agents overseas to a Chinese national was handed over to military prosecutors on Thursday.

The Defense Counterintelligence Command, which investigated the case, initially did not apply espionage charges but has now added them, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday, suggesting that military authorities found a connection between North Korea and the civilian official.

"Specific details of the crime are limited due to the ongoing investigation," the ministry told reporters, "We will investigate according to law and principles."

Authorities discovered in June that the civilian official, who remains unnamed, leaked multiple military secrets, including Humint, or human intelligence, on intelligence officers involved in North Korean espionage activities to a Chinese national of Korean descent. Information on undercover "black" and "white" agents, including their names, ages and countries of operation, was found on North Korean-related servers, leading to the identification of the civilian official as a suspect.

White agents operate openly under diplomatic cover, while black agents operate secretly undercover.

The civilian official allegedly handed over the information in exchange for money and other valuables. Security data from the KDIC's intranet, restricted to outsiders, was transferred to the civilian official's personal laptop and subsequently leaked. The official claimed he was "hacked by North Korea."

The military suspects that the initial recipient of the leaked data was a Chinese national but has not ruled out the possibility that the final recipient could be North Korea, given the primary role of KDIC black agents in gathering intelligence on North Korea.

Following the leak, South Korean agents abroad suspended their reconnaissance activities and urgently returned home, while their vast intelligence networks are believed to have been critically harmed, according to military investigation authorities. There are also growing concerns about the safety of agents operating in the North Korea-China border area.

The Defense Counterintelligence Command obtained an arrest warrant for the civilian official on July 30 for violating the Military Secrets Protection Act. However, espionage charges were not applied when requesting the warrant, as the recipient was a Chinese national. Both the Military Criminal Act and the Criminal Act apply espionage charges to those who act for an "enemy," specifically North Korea.

It remains uncertain whether the civilian official can be punished for espionage. To charge espionage, investigators must prove that the suspect knew they were passing information to North Korean operatives, requiring evidence such as directives from North Korean authorities or proof that the Chinese national was working for North Korea.

There are growing calls among lawmakers to expand espionage charges to include all "foreign countries," aligning with global standards. South Korea is the only OECD country that limits espionage charges to an "enemy country."

Legislative efforts to expand the definition have been made since 2004 but have repeatedly failed to pass the National Assembly due to the need to clarify the scope of espionage and national security breaches. Additionally, espionage currently carries the death penalty or life imprisonment, while the typical sentence for murder is 7 to 10 years, making the punishment for espionage notably severe.

In 2018, a KDIC operations team leader who leaked over 100 military secrets, including personal information of black agents, to China and Japan was not charged with espionage and received only a four-year sentence.

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, attending a National Assembly plenary session on Thursday, said that the KDIC's operations have "mostly returned to normal" and pledged to implement strong follow-up reforms.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]