Key facts
- A South Korean man was sentenced to five years in prison for spying for North Korea.
- The man collected information on North Korean defectors and their activities.
- He also sought personal information on active-duty military officers.
- Cryptocurrency was used as payment for information and to fund espionage activities.
- The man was convicted under the National Security Act.
- He had previously received a four-year sentence for leaking military secrets.
A South Korean man has been sentenced to five years in prison for spying for North Korea, officials confirmed on Saturday. The 43-year-old, whose identity was withheld, was found to have received instructions from a North Korean agent via the messaging app Telegram between May and June 2021. His mission involved collecting information on North Korean defectors opposed to Pyongyang and their activities.
During this period, the man received approximately 660 million won (US$479,346) in virtual currency from the North Korean agent to fund cryptocurrency investments. He subsequently approached the leader of a North Korean defector group, offering sponsorship and requesting the creation of a virtual currency wallet, the address of which he forwarded to the agent. Following a transfer of 1 million won worth of Bitcoin as a donation, the man received evidence of the group sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets.
Furthermore, the agent tasked the man with gathering personal details of seven active-duty military officers, including their units and resident registration numbers, with the aim of recruiting them for espionage. In pursuit of this, the man hired a private investigation agency, which provided information on one officer's unit, residence, schedule, and activities in exchange for 2.5 million won in cryptocurrency.
The Seoul Central District Court convicted the man of violating the National Security Act, stating that information concerning anti-Pyongyang North Korean defectors requires protection due to potential harm to them or their families. In a separate case, the man had previously been sentenced to four years in prison by the Supreme Court in December of the previous year for approaching an active-duty military officer and leaking military secrets at North Korea's behest.