ex-soldier-espionage case

▲ The Supreme Court (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- 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 (US$14,500) fine and the forfeiture of 19.07 million won for the former soldier, whose identity was withheld, in a ruling last month, saying there was no error in the lower court's ruling.

The defendant allegedly met a Chinese national, whom he had gotten to know through social media, in Beijing in August 2024 while serving as an Army sergeant. The Chinese national, who claimed to be an official from a Chinese intelligence agency, asked him to provide classified military information, and the defendant accepted the request.

The defendant then provided military secrets, including materials related to joint South Korea-U.S. exercises, the U.N. Command and South Korean military drills, on seven occasions through February 2025 in exchange for approximately 17.26 million won. Investigators found the former soldier received a wristwatch-style camera from the Chinese national and used it to photograph classified military secrets.

A military court sentenced the defendant to five years in prison. The Seoul High Court later reduced the sentence to four years after rejecting his argument that he had not intentionally leaked military secrets.

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