Active duty soldier who handed over military secrets to China has Chinese background

The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier arrives at a major naval base in Busan, March 2. Yonhap

An active duty soldier, who allegedly handed over military secrets to a Chinese intelligence organization, has been found to be of Chinese background, a Korean lawmaker said Tuesday, citing the case's indictment.

The Army sergeant, who was born in China in 2003 to a Chinese mother and a Korean father, lived most of his life in Beijing before entering Korea's mandatory military service in December 2023, according to a copy of his indictment submitted to Rep. Kang Dae-sik of the People Power Party.

The soldier, who served in an unidentified front-line unit, was indicted by military prosecutors earlier this month on charges of benefiting an enemy after his arrest on April 18.

The soldier was allegedly first approached by personnel under the Intelligence Bureau of the Chinese People's Liberation Army's Joint Staff Department after he posted photos of himself in uniform on Chinese social media.

Last August, he met a Chinese operative in Beijing while on vacation and later received instructions to send documents on Ulchi Freedom Shield — an annual Korea-U.S. military exercise.

The material in question were drafted by the U.S. military and contained names of U.S. Forces Korea bases, troop reinforcement plans and locations an enemy could target in a contingency.

Officials also discovered that personal information of those responsible for tasks related to Korea-U.S. military drills had been handed over to China.

In return, the soldier allegedly received 88,000 yuan ($12,200) from a Chinese intelligence organization from last April to February this year, according to Rep. Kang.