Chinese espionage targeting South Korean and U.S. military

Recent legal and investigative developments in South Korea have highlighted multiple instances of espionage involving Chinese nationals targeting South Korean and U.S. military intelligence.

In one case, the South Korean Supreme Court finalized a four-year prison sentence for a former Army sergeant. The individual was convicted of treason and bribery for leaking sensitive data to Chinese intelligence between August 2024 and February 2025. The compromised information included details on the ‘Ulchi Freedom Shield’ (UFS) exercises, United Nations Command documents, and the locations and names of U.S. forces stationed in South Korea.

Separately, two Chinese nationals were indicted for conducting organized intelligence operations. One suspect, a former People's Liberation Army signal interception officer, allegedly intercepted communications between fighter pilots and control towers near several major military bases, including Osan Air Base and Camp Humphreys, collecting 13.9 terabytes of data. A second suspect, a former special forces member, reportedly used a military supply store as a cover to obtain training videos of Apache helicopters and F-35 fighter jets by befriending U.S. and South Korean personnel. This data was allegedly transmitted to China via social media and messaging applications.