South Korean man sentenced to 5 years in prison for spying for North Korea

A South Korean man has been sentenced to five years in prison for spying for North Korea, officials said on Saturday.

The man, whose identity was withheld, was found to have received an order from a North Korean agent via the messaging app Telegram from May to June 2021 to collect information about anti-Pyongyang defectors from North Korea and their activities.

Around that time, the man received about 660 million won ($490,600) in virtual currency from the North Korean agent to operate cryptocurrency investments.

He later approached the head of a North Korean defector group and offered to sponsor the organization. He asked the group’s leader to create a virtual currency wallet and forwarded its address to the North Korean agent.

After the agent transferred 1 million won worth of Bitcoin to the group — in the name of a donation — the man received videos and photos showing the group sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets in return.

The agent also instructed the man to collect personal information of seven active-duty military officers, including their units and resident registration numbers, and attempt to recruit them for espionage.

The man hired a private investigation agency to gather information about one of the seven officers. The agency subsequently passed along details about the officer’s unit, residence, schedule and activities in exchange for 2.5 million won in cryptocurrency.

The Seoul Central District Court convicted the man for violating the National Security Act, saying that information about anti-Pyongyang North Korean defectors warrants protection because it can be used to harm them or their families.

Separately, the man had been sentenced to four years in prison by the Supreme Court in December last year for approaching an active-duty military officer and leaking military secrets at the request of North Korea.

Yonhap