{
  "id": 8147664,
  "title": "Top court upholds 4-year prison term for ex-soldier for selling military secrets to China",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/top-court-upholds-4-year-prison-term-for-ex-soldier-for-selling-8147664",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-18T02:12:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/law-crime/20260918/top-court-upholds-4-year-prison-term-for-ex-soldier-for-selling-military-secrets-to-china"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Supreme Court has upheld the four-year prison sentence for an ex-Army soldier convicted of selling military secrets to China, according to judicial officials. The court also maintained a 20 million-won ($14,500) fine and the seizure of 19.07 million won from the individual, whose name was not disclosed, in a ruling issued last month. The court affirmed that there were no errors in the decision made by the lower court.\n\nThe defendant allegedly met a Chinese national, whom he had connected with through social media, in Beijing in August 2024 while serving as an Army sergeant. This Chinese individual, who claimed to be an official from a Chinese intelligence agency, approached the defendant and requested classified military information. The defendant agreed to provide the sought-after information.\n\nIn exchange for around 17.26 million won, the defendant provided military secrets to the Chinese national seven times between August 2024 and February 2025. These secrets included information related to joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises, the U.N. Command, and South Korean military drills. Investigations revealed the extent of the unauthorized disclosure.",
  "summary": "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…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Top court upholds 4-yr prison term for ex-soldier for selling military secrets to China",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/top-court-upholds-4-yr-prison-term-for-ex-soldier-for-selling",
        "published": "2026-09-18T01:31:01.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Top court upholds 4-year prison term for ex-soldier for selling military secrets to China",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/top-court-upholds-4-year-prison-term-for-ex-soldier-for-selling",
        "published": "2026-09-18T01:57:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}