By Yi Whan-woo
Police have arrested a couple in their 50s on charges of spying for North Korea in return for “elevation” in their social status if the Stalinist regime takes over the South.
The Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency said Tuesday that the 58-year-old man, surnamed Chang, allegedly leaked military intelligence to North Korean agents in China since 2008.
He and his 57-year-old lover, surnamed Yoo, are also suspected of handing over information on politically sensitive issues.
The couple living in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, voluntarily visited the agents and worked as spies, police said.
Investigators said Chang and Yoo allegedly introduced themselves as promoting the unification of the two Koreas and leaked the locations of surveillance cameras along the eastern coast, their type and specifications, and other military information on over 30 occasions.
Police also said that the pair deeply sympathized with the Pyongyang government, and set up a memorial stone in China to praise late North Korean leader Kim Il-sung and his wife.
Jang also allegedly founded a religious organization in 2000 where Yoo served as the secretary-general.
The organization focused on bringing Koreans across the world into one community. It is claimed the couple allegedly made an agreement with North Korea that they will serve as high-ranking officials in recognition of their “efforts for unification” if the communist regime unites the two nations.