A person in their 40s who collected information on defectors and active-duty soldiers under the orders of a North Korean agent was sentenced to five years in prison.
According to a source from the legal community on the 5th, Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 21 (Presiding Judge Cho Soon-pyo) sentenced A, 43 years old, who was indicted on charges including espionage under the National Security Act, to five years in prison and five years of disqualification.
A, who operated a virtual asset investment company, was found to have received orders via Telegram from a North Korean agent between May and June 2021 to identify personal details and activities of defectors with anti-North Korea tendencies. Around that time, A also received virtual currency worth approximately 660 million Korean won from the North Korean agent under the pretext of operating funds for virtual asset investments.
A proposed sponsorship to B, the representative of a defector group, and after having him create a virtual currency wallet, forwarded the wallet address to the North Korean agent. When the agent sent 1 million Korean won worth of Bitcoin under the guise of sponsorship funds, A used this as an opportunity to obtain videos and photos of anti-North Korea leaflet distribution events from B. Additionally, A approached a YouTuber who defected from North Korea’s Ministry of State Security, expressing interest in “North Korean human rights issues,” and acquired the YouTuber’s phone number.
A’s targets expanded to include active-duty soldiers. In July 2021, the North Korean agent was found to have sent A the names, affiliated units, and resident registration numbers of seven active-duty officers and instructed A to verify additional information to recruit them.
Among these, A obtained photos of Captain C’s uniform and face from his social media (SNS) and then commissioned a private investigator to conduct surveillance. During this process, A stated, “I want to know about the woman involved with the person my daughter is seeing,” and the private investigator, after receiving 2.5 million Korean won worth of Bitcoin, identified and provided details such as Captain C’s affiliated unit, official residence, room number, and schedule.
Between August and September 2021, A contacted another active-duty officer via Telegram, offering money in exchange for military organizational charts and other information, but was rejected.
The court determined that A detected and collected state secrets under the orders of the North Korean agent. The court stated, “Photos, contact information, and activity details of defectors engaged in anti-North Korea activities hold substantial value as secrets worth protecting, as they could be used by North Korea to track or harm the defectors or retaliate against their families still in North Korea.”
Furthermore, the court added, “The nature of the crime is severe, as A received virtual currency exceeding 600 million Korean won from the North Korean agent and proceeded with acts of treason in accordance with the orders,” and “It is difficult to find genuine reflection as A consistently denied the crimes and persisted with implausible excuses.”
Meanwhile, A was separately indicted for leaking military secrets to an active-duty officer under the same agent’s orders and had a sentence of four years in prison and four years of disqualification finalized by the Supreme Court in December 2025.
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