Top court upholds 4-year prison term for ex-soldier for selling military secrets to China
The Supreme Court has upheld a lower court's four-year prison sentence for a former Army soldier who was indicted for leaking military secrets, including materials related to joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises, to China, judicial officials said Friday. The top court also confirmed a 20 million-won ($14,500) fine and the forfeiture of 19.07 million won for the former soldier, whose identity…
The Supreme Court has maintained the four-year prison sentence imposed on a former Army soldier for selling military secrets to China, according to judicial officials. The court also upheld a 20 million-won ($14,500) fine and the confiscation of 19.07 million won from the unnamed individual. The ruling, made last month, stated that there were no mistakes in the lower court's decision.
The defendant allegedly met a Chinese national he had met on social media while serving as an Army sergeant in Beijing in August 2024. This individual claimed to be an official from a Chinese intelligence agency and asked the defendant to supply classified military information. The defendant complied, providing military secrets on seven occasions between August 2024 and February 2025, receiving about 17.26 million won in return.
These secrets included details about joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises, the U.N. Command, and South Korean military drills. Investigators found evidence supporting these allegations.
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