2 ex-Chinese military officers arrested over alleged eavesdropping, leaks
Summary
Two former Chinese military officers were arrested in Suwon on Tuesday over alleged eavesdropping on fighter-jet communications near a Korean military base and leaking classified material tied to Korea-U.S. exercises. Police said one suspect is a Chinese national in his 60s and the other is a 45-year-old ethnic Korean with Chinese nationality. Both are being investigated on charges including benefiting the enemy and violations of military and communications secrecy laws.
Key Facts
- The first suspect allegedly made multiple visits to Korea on a tourist visa and tapped communications between fighter jets and air traffic control towers from a hotel near an airport in Gunsan.
- Police said the Gunsan airport is home to assets belonging to the Korean and U.S. Air Forces, and the visits began in January 2024.
- The second suspect allegedly recruited a Korean woman working at Camp Humphreys to obtain classified material related to allied exercises.
- Police said the second suspect operated a U.S. military supplies store near Camp Humphreys while concealing his identity and carried out the acts from November 2021 until last May.
- Under Korea's criminal code, benefiting the enemy is punishable by life imprisonment or at least three years in prison, while violations of the military base protection act can bring up to three years in prison or a 30 million won fine.
Military choppers are stationed at Camp Humphreys, a sprawling U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 10. Yonhap
SUWON — Two former Chinese military officers have been arrested for allegedly eavesdropping on communications from fighter jets near a Korean military base and leaking classified material related to Korea-U.S. military exercises, police said Tuesday.
One of the suspects, a Chinese national in his 60s, was arrested on suspicions of benefiting the enemy and violating a law on the protection of communications secrets after allegedly making multiple visits to Korea on a tourist visa and tapping communications between fighter jets and air traffic control towers from a hotel near an airport in the southwestern city of Gunsan, according to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police.
The airport is home to assets belonging to the Korean and U.S. Air Forces.
Police said the man is believed to have retired after serving many years in China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) and that his visits, which began in January 2024, coincided with periods when regular Korea-U.S. Air Force exercises took place.
The suspect claimed it was his "hobby" to listen to aircraft communications but police said they plan to look into whether any obtained information was relayed to the Chinese authorities and whether anyone was behind the operation.
Meanwhile, the second suspect, a 45-year-old ethnic Korean with Chinese nationality, was arrested on suspicions of benefiting the enemy and violating a law on the protection of military bases after allegedly recruiting a Korean woman working at Camp Humphreys, a key U.S. base in Pyeongtaek, some 60 kilometers south of Seoul, to obtain classified material related to allied exercises.
The man allegedly concealed his identity while running a U.S. military supplies store near the base and engaged in the acts from November 2021 until last May as a retired PLA officer.
Under Korea's criminal code, benefiting the enemy is punishable by life imprisonment or a prison sentence of at least three years.
Violations of the communications secrets protection act are punishable by prison terms of between one and 10 years or a suspension of qualification for up to five years.
Violations of the military base protection act, meanwhile, carry maximum punishments of three years in prison or 30 million won ($21,200) in fines.
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