Man in His 40s Divulged State Secrets Under Orders From North Korean Agent in Exchange for Billions of Won in Bitcoin

Received Cryptocurrency Worth 660 Million Won from North Korean Agent
Approached Defectors to Gather Information... Even Hired Private Detective to Tail Officer

A man in his 40s has been sentenced to prison for receiving more than 600 million won in cryptocurrency from a North Korean agent and collecting information on North Korean defectors and active-duty military personnel. It was revealed that, under North Korean orders, he even hired a private detective agency to tail an active-duty officer and trace his movements.

According to Yonhap News Agency, citing legal sources on September 5, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 21 (Presiding Judge Cho Soon-pyo) sentenced Mr. A (43), who was charged with espionage under the National Security Act, to five years in prison and five years of disqualification from certain rights.

Investigations found that Mr. A, who operated a virtual asset investment company, received instructions via Telegram from a North Korean agent in May and June of 2021 to approach North Korean defectors who had anti-North sentiments and to collect their personal information and activity details. During this process, he received cryptocurrency worth approximately 660 million won from the North Korean agent under the pretext of operating funds for virtual asset investment.

Seoul Central District Court building. Photo by Yonhap News

Mr. A approached the head of a North Korean defector organization expressing his intent to provide support and demanded the creation of a cryptocurrency wallet. He then handed the wallet address over to the North Korean agent. The agent sent Bitcoin worth about 1 million won as purported support funds, which Mr. A used to acquire photos and videos related to leaflet campaigns organized by the defector group. Mr. A also built a relationship with a YouTuber who was a former member of North Korea’s State Security Department, ultimately obtaining his mobile phone number.

He also collected information on active-duty military personnel. Mr. A received the names, affiliated units, and resident registration numbers of seven active-duty officers from the North Korean agent and was instructed to gather further information and attempt to recruit them. For one officer in particular, Mr. A obtained photos and other information posted on the officer’s social networking service (SNS) account and hired a private detective agency to tail the officer in order to get details about his unit, official residence, residence, and schedule. He paid the detective agency approximately 2.5 million won in Bitcoin for these services.

The court stated, "If the information collected were to be delivered to North Korea, it could be used to track or harm defectors or to retaliate against their family members who remain in the North,” and determined that the information in question warranted protection. The court also emphasized the seriousness of the crime, pointing out that Mr. A received a large amount of cryptocurrency from the North Korean agent and committed these acts under direct orders.

Meanwhile, Mr. A was previously indicted on separate charges, accused of approaching an active-duty officer at the instruction of the same North Korean agent and leaking military secrets. In that case, the Supreme Court upheld a sentence of four years in prison and four years of disqualification from certain rights.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.