Stealing Secrets and Eavesdropping on Communications... Arrested Individuals Revealed to Be Former Chinese Military Personnel

[Anchor]

Chinese nationals have been arrested for eavesdropping on fighter jet control communications at a South Korean military airport and gathering military information near a U.S. Forces Korea base. All of them turned out to be former members of the Chinese military.

Here is a report by reporter Je Hui-won.

[Reporter]

Last April, a man in his 60s, identified as A, who is a former member of the Chinese military, stayed at a hotel located about one kilometer away from the Gunsan Military Airport in North Jeolla Province, where he eavesdropped on communications between South Korean military pilots and air traffic controllers.

He installed an SDR receiver and antennas in his hotel room. Unlike regular two-way radios, it is capable of receiving signals only, making it difficult to detect the eavesdropping activity.

Police also confirmed that A, who had no previous record of entering the country, had entered South Korea multiple times starting the year before last around the timing of South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises.

Police are also investigating the scope of the leaked communication logs and potential masterminds by conducting digital forensics on A's laptop and mobile phone.

During police questioning, A claimed, "I have a hobby of listening to civilian aircraft communications, and I collected the information because I wanted to hear the communications of fighter jet pilots."

Police arrested A on charges of aiding the enemy and violating the Communications Privacy Act.

[Choi Gi-il / Professor of Military Studies at Sangji University: This is unlikely to be something done at an individual level. It is becoming increasingly important in terms of information warfare or cognitive warfare, and we must not forget institutional safety measures or lose our vigilance....]

Another Chinese national in his 40s, identified as B, who operated a military surplus store selling military goods near a U.S. Forces Korea base, was also arrested.

He is accused of recruiting a South Korean individual, identified as C, who worked at the U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, starting in November 2021 to collect information such as weapon movements within the base.

B is also a former member of the Chinese military, and police have booked C, who provided various types of information, as a suspect as well.

(Video Editing: Choi Jin-hwa, Design: Jeon Yu-geun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.