"Handed Military Secrets to China for 17 Million Won": Army Sergeant's Four-Year Sentence Finalized

[Financial News] An active-duty Republic of Korea Army sergeant who handed military secrets, including Republic of Korea–United States combined military exercise materials, to a Chinese intelligence organization in exchange for money has had his prison sentence finalized by the Supreme Court of Korea.
According to legal sources on the 18th, the Second Division of the Supreme Court of Korea, with Justice Park Young-jae presiding over the case, upheld the lower court's sentence of four years in prison, a 20 million won fine, and the forfeiture of 19.07 million won for Army Sergeant A, 23. He had been indicted on charges of general aiding the enemy, disclosure of military secrets, receiving a bribe after an improper official act under the Military Criminal Act, and violating the Act on Information and Communications Network.
In August 2024, A met an unidentified Chinese national at a restaurant in Beijing after getting to know him through social media. The Chinese national, who said he worked for a Chinese think tank, offered to pay for confidential military materials that A could access during his service. A accepted the offer and received 15,000 yuan. He later bought a cellphone to photograph military secrets and was given a wristwatch-style camera to record the materials.
Investigators found that A received a total of 88,000 yuan, or approximately 17.26 million won, in seven payments between August 24, 2024, and February 25, 2025. He allegedly leaked materials on the latest Republic of Korea–United States combined military exercise, materials related to the United Nations Command (UNC), and documents on South Korean military exercises and trends within the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA). He was also charged with using part of the money to pay for prostitution.
The central issue at trial was whether the military prosecutors had lawfully collected the evidence they secured. The parties disputed whether a separate warrant was required to use the evidence to prove the unrelated prostitution charges, which were not among the offenses listed in the search and seizure warrant.
The first and second trials reached the same conclusion on the primary charge of general aiding the enemy. Based on lawfully admitted evidence, the military court found that A had the intent to aid the enemy and sentenced him to five years in prison. The Seoul High Court, which heard the appeal, also recognized that intent and noted, "His culpability is serious because he committed each of these offenses despite being an active-duty servicemember who had received security training and well knew that military secrets must not be disclosed to outsiders."
However, the courts differed in their assessment of the admissibility of the evidence. The Seoul High Court ruled that the evidence related to the prostitution charges was inadmissible under Article 359-2 of the Military Court Act. It held that a separate search and seizure warrant should have been issued by a court if the evidence was to be used to prove a separate offense unrelated to the offenses listed in the original warrant. On that basis, the court acquitted A of those charges and reduced his sentence to four years in prison and a 20 million won fine.
The Supreme Court of Korea upheld the second-trial ruling. The panel stated, "The lower court did not fail to conduct the necessary examination of the case, exceed the limits of the principle of free evaluation of evidence by violating logic and empirical rules, or make any error that affected the judgment through a misunderstanding of legal principles concerning the establishment and number of offenses for general aiding the enemy under the Military Criminal Act, the meaning of 'official duties' under the crime of receiving a bribe after an improper official act, or coerced acts, or through an omission in judgment or insufficient reasoning."
[email protected] Reporter Kim Dong-gyu Reporter