Jeon Han-gil files espionage complaint against former President Moon over inter-Korean summit USB handover
- Input
- 2026-03-24 14:00:57
- Updated
- 2026-03-24 14:00:57
On the afternoon of the 24th, Jeon and Attorney Lee Sung-jik, legal adviser to "Jeon Han-gil News," submitted a complaint against Moon to the National Office of Investigation.
They argue that Moon’s act of handing a "New Economic Initiative for the Korean Peninsula" USB flash drive to Kim Jong Un, President of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), during the first inter-Korean summit in April 2018 constitutes espionage, treason, and a general pro-enemy offense under the National Security Act.
At the press conference held that day in front of the civil service office of the National Office of Investigation in Seodaemun District, Jeon said, "When former President Moon met Chairman Kim in 2018, he handed over a USB flash drive, and he said the contents were classified as level-3 state secrets and therefore could not be disclosed to the public." He continued, "It makes no sense to give information that cannot be disclosed to the people to the head of a hostile state, so I came here to file a complaint."
Attorney Lee also stated, "The true nature of the USB, which had long been shrouded in secrecy, has now been laid bare before the public through a court ruling." He added, "In an administrative lawsuit filed by Gu Ju and an attorney seeking to overturn the Ministry of Unification’s refusal to disclose information, the Judiciary held that the contents of the USB flash drive constitute level-3 state secrets and that disclosure could significantly harm the nation’s vital interests."
He went on to argue, "Information that the Judiciary has definitively recognized as a secret whose disclosure could endanger national security was unilaterally offered up, without authorization, by the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea to the leader of an enemy state." He claimed, "This is clearly a criminal act and falls under treason, espionage, and a general pro-enemy offense under the Criminal Act and the National Security Act."
Back in 2018, during the meeting at the Panmunjom Footbridge, Moon handed Kim a USB flash drive containing the New Economic Initiative for the Korean Peninsula. At the time, an official from Cheong Wa Dae (the Blue House) explained that the drive contained materials on the New Economic Map of the Korean Peninsula in booklet and video form. However, some conservative figures and media outlets later raised suspicions that the USB flash drive included plans related to building a nuclear power plant in the DPRK.
The Ministry of Unification (MOU), however, previously clarified, "The 'New Economic Initiative for the Korean Peninsula' delivered to the North during the April 27, 2018 inter-Korean summit contains no reference whatsoever to the word 'nuclear power plant' or any related content."
welcome@fnnews.com Reporter Jang Yu-ha Reporter