00:00It seems that recently, Chinese spies have been very active in Korea.
00:03In China, due to their domestic laws, even ordinary civilians of Chinese origin can be turned into spies.
00:08Today, let's take a look at some of China's espionage activities.
00:11There was a very big incident on August 10th.
00:13A Chinese man in his 60s, Mr. A, was arrested for illegally collecting radio communications
00:17between the control tower and fighter pilots at Gunsan Airport's military airfield in North Geala province.
00:22This Chinese man, Mr. A, from April 2026, installed a one-way receiving device at a hotel about one kilometer
00:28from the airport
00:29and eavesdropped on fighter jet communications.
00:31Interestingly, Mr. A was a former member of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, although he is now retired.
00:37He had no previous record of entering the country, but since January 2024, he entered several times.
00:42Surprisingly, during the police investigation, Mr. A claimed that he had a hobby of listening to civilian aircraft communications
00:46and wanted to listen to fighter pilot communications as well.
00:49Meanwhile, another Chinese man in his 40s, Mr. B, was also arrested by the police.
00:53He is suspected of gathering information about the training activities of the U.S. military at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek,
00:58Gyeonggi Province, where the U.S. Forces Korea headquarters is located.
01:01This Chinese man, Mr. B, is suspected of running a military supply store near the main gate of the U
01:06.S. military base
01:07from November 2021 to May 2026 and recruiting insiders to collect military secrets.
01:12The police also believe that he is suspected of stealing military supplies from the U.S. military base
01:16and either selling them or brokering their sale through secondhand markets in China.
01:19In addition, it has been found that this Chinese man, Mr. B, provided money and valuables to a Korean woman,
01:23Miss C,
01:24who works at the U.S. military base in exchange for military secrets.
01:26Very interestingly, this Chinese man, Mr. B, is also a former member of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
01:32He is now retired.
01:33As you can see, there are cases where former Chinese military personnel are caught engaging in espionage activities in Korea.
01:38As you all know, China has been consistently conducting espionage activities against Korea since 2024.
01:42There have been several cases where people were caught taking photos with cameras near Air Force or Naval bases
01:46and there were also instances where drones were flown to film government office buildings.
01:50However, unfortunately, the two Chinese individuals who were caught by the police this time cannot be punished for espionage.
01:54The reason is that the amendment to the criminal law, which expands the definition of espionage to include not only
01:59North Korea,
01:59but also foreign countries and similar organizations, was passed at a plenary session of the National Assembly in February,
02:03but it will only take effect starting from September 13.
02:06So the people who were caught this time cannot be punished for espionage.
02:08Instead, they have been arrested on charges of the general offense of aiding the enemy
02:11and violating the Military Base and Installation Protection Act.
02:13In fact, we need to be a bit cautious about Chinese individuals,
02:15and it's important to clearly understand the relationship between Chinese citizens and the Chinese government.
02:19Of course, this doesn't mean that we should suspect everyone just because they are Chinese nationals,
02:22or automatically connect them to government activities.
02:24The key point is China's legal system.
02:26The issue is how much the legal framework allows the government to require cooperation
02:29from its citizens and companies for national security and intelligence activities.
02:32China enacted National Intelligence Law in 2017,
02:35and this law is one of the key pieces of legislation that supports China's national intelligence activities.
02:39If you look at Article 7 of the National Intelligence Law,
02:41it stipulates that all organizations and citizens must support and cooperate with national intelligence work
02:45in accordance with the law, and must keep secrets related to national intelligence work.
02:48The important point here is that the obligation to cooperate is not only imposed on specific intelligence agency employees
02:52or public officials, but also on a much broader group, including organizations and citizens.
02:56Also, national intelligence agencies, in the process of carrying out intelligence work,
03:00work with related institutions and organizations,
03:02it is stipulated so that they can require necessary support and cooperation from citizens.
03:05This is not about asking for consent, but in reality,
03:07if the Chinese government gives instructions, they have to comply.
03:09So it is a structure where Chinese citizens inevitably have to cooperate in information gathering.
03:13Here, we also need to look at the Chinese data security law enacted in 2021.
03:17Article 35 of the Data Security Law states that
03:20when relevant Chinese authorities collect data for purposes such as national security or criminal investigations,
03:24according to the law, the relevant organizations or individuals are required to cooperate.
03:27Therefore, if the Chinese government requests specific data citing the need for national security or investigations,
03:32the key issue becomes how far a company or individual can refuse such a request.
03:35Also, for example, if a Chinese company operates telecommunications, platforms, or cloud services overseas,
03:40if they are running businesses such as e-commerce and have accumulated a significant amount of data,
03:44it is difficult to completely rule out the possibility
03:47that the Chinese government may request data provision for reasons of national security or public affairs.
03:52For companies, since they are subject to Chinese law,
03:54how to respond to government requests can become an important issue.
03:57Of course, we shouldn't jump to the conclusion that just because of this,
03:59every Chinese person or Chinese company operating overseas is automatically mobilized for government activities.
04:03In fact, among Chinese nationals,
04:05there are far more people who live and work overseas without any connection to government activities.
04:09The important point is not the individual's nationality itself,
04:12but rather that China's laws and national intelligence system are structured in such a way that,
04:15if necessary, they can require citizens and companies to cooperate with national intelligence work.
04:19Therefore, for Korea, instead of treating all Chinese nationals as potential spies,
04:22the focus should be on monitoring where the information goes and who requested it
04:25when information-gathering activities occur in sensitive areas such as military facilities,
04:29key national infrastructure, advanced technology, and other sensitive fields.
04:32It is important to thoroughly verify for what purpose the information was collected.
04:34Especially in situations like this recent case where a former member of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
04:39actually collected South Korean military information,
04:41it is necessary to strengthen counterintelligence capabilities based not on vague suspicions due to nationality,
04:45but on concrete actions and legal grounds.
04:47And when we think of a spy, we usually picture secret agents from movies,
04:50crossing borders under a hidden identity, stealing secret documents,
04:53and moving covertly under the orders of intelligence agencies.
04:56However, in reality, intelligence activities do not always take place in this way.
04:59On the contrary, it is entirely possible to gather information over a short period
05:03while maintaining a legal identity and engaging in everyday activities.
05:06Especially in modern intelligence activities, publicly available information can be a very important resource.
05:10By continuously collecting photos or videos posted on the internet,
05:13news reports, social media posts, and public materials from companies and organizations,
05:16it is possible to track the movements of certain facilities or organizations.
05:19When information obtained directly in the field or through people is added to this,
05:23it becomes possible to analyze details that are difficult to confirm with open sources alone.
05:27The problem is that each piece of information may not seem significant when it exists separately.
05:31Knowing the location of a specific military facility,
05:34confirming what equipment is being deployed,
05:35or identifying which department a particular commander has moved to,
05:38these are pieces of information that can sometimes be confirmed publicly.
05:41However, when this kind of data continues to accumulate over time,
05:43it can be used to analyze changes in activity patterns of the unit.
05:46That's why in modern counterintelligence, it's important not just to look at a single action,
05:50but to observe repeated behaviors.
05:52You need to look at things like whether someone has visited a particular facility multiple times,
05:56or whether they've consistently collected only certain types of information,
05:59or repeatedly contacted a specific person.
06:01This is also why in this case the police analyzed the suspect's cell phone and laptop.
06:04Even actions that seem ordinary on their own can reveal the purpose and scope of information gathering
06:08when multiple records are connected.
06:10The fortunate thing is that now courts in our country have started to make quite strict judgments
06:14regarding foreign nationals collecting military information.
06:17Especially looking at recent rulings, unlike in the past,
06:19it's no longer just a matter of imposing simple fines or light punishments on foreigners
06:22who photograph military facilities or collect military information.
06:24There are now increasing cases where the general crime of aiding the enemy under the criminal act
06:28are actively applied and actual prison sentences are handed down.
06:31The most representative case is the ruling that came out last May at the Suwon District Court.
06:34The court sentenced two Chinese nationals to prison for going around US-Korea military facilities
06:38and international airports in Korea, photographing fighter jets and control facilities,
06:41and attempting to intercept air traffic communications.
06:43They were sentenced to two years in prison.
06:45Most importantly, this was the first case in Korea
06:47where the general crime of aiding the enemy under the criminal act was applied to foreigners
06:50and resulted in a guilty verdict.
06:52The court also determined that their actions caused a serious threat to national security
06:55and stated that strict punishment was necessary.
06:57It didn't end there.
06:58Last June, the Busan District Court also recognized the general crime
07:00of aiding the enemy for a Chinese international student.
07:02From 2023 to 2024, they repeatedly filmed the Busan Naval Operations Command
07:06and the US Navy aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt
07:09using Chinese-made drones and mobile phones.
07:11Among them, the Chinese international student who played a leading role in the crime
07:14was sentenced to one year and six months in prison.
07:16In particular, the decision by the Busan District Court is worth paying close attention to.
07:19The court ruled that even if it was not confirmed that the footage was actually handed over
07:23to an enemy country, the general crime of aiding the enemy was established.
07:26The court's decision means that, in addition to intents,
07:28it is not always necessary to prove a separate intention to provide military benefits
07:31to an enemy country for the general crime of aiding the enemy.
07:33In other words, the act of filming military facilities and assets,
07:36which poses a risk to South Korea's military interests,
07:39was regarded as a very serious offense.
07:41The reason why these rulings are important is that they show the judiciary standards
07:44regarding foreigners' access to and filming of military facilities
07:47are becoming much stricter.
07:48Especially in cases like this one, where information is repeatedly collected
07:51or military assets are filmed near military facilities,
07:53it is quite significant that the court recognizes these actions
07:55as posing a real threat to national security.
07:57And now, the law itself is changing.
07:59Starting from September 13, the revised Criminal Act will be enforced,
08:02and the scope of the existing espionage law will be expanded to include foreign countries.
08:05If the existing espionage law targeted enemy states,
08:07now it allows for the punishment of espionage activities
08:09for foreign countries or organizations equivalent to them.
08:11However, the statutory penalty for these new provisions
08:13is not the same as the existing espionage law for enemy states,
08:15and it is said as fixed-term imprisonment of at least three years.
08:18The existing espionage law for enemy states still carries the death penalty,
08:21life imprisonment, or imprisonment for seven years or more.
08:23Therefore, from now on, acts such as detecting, collecting,
08:26or delivering state secrets for foreign countries
08:27can be dealt with much more clearly under the law than before.
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