▲ The court complex used by the Seoul Central District Court and the Seoul High Court in southern Seoul is seen in this undated file photo provided by the high court. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Chinese national-military secrets

Chinese national sentenced to 5 years in prison for trying to obtain military secrets

SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Thursday sentenced a Chinese national to five years in prison for attempting to bribe active duty soldiers into leaking military secrets.

The defendant, only identified by their nationality, is accused of colluding with a Chinese intelligence agent and approaching South Korean service members five times from May 2024 to March this year to obtain military secrets.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down the five-year term to the Chinese national and ordered the forfeiture of 4.57 million won (US$3,200), noting the ruling took into consideration that no military secrets were actually leaked.

During investigation by authorities, the Chinese national was found to have searched for active duty soldiers on social media chatrooms, offering them money in return for military secrets.

The Chinese national attempted to send spying equipment, such as watches with hidden cameras, to the soldiers and exchange military secrets for money without meeting in person.

The Defense Counterintelligence Command apprehended the Chinese national in March before transferring the case to the prosecution.

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