85 Violators of Military Discipline Law Identified Under Current Government

On the 8th, when the military leave that had been restricted to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was resumed normally, soldiers departing on leave were waiting for the train at Seoul Station. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been revealed that 85 people were caught violating the Military Secrets Protection Act (Military Secrets Act) during the Moon Jae-in administration. In particular, the number of active-duty soldiers leaking military secrets has steadily increased, raising concerns that military discipline may be deteriorating.

According to intelligence authorities on the 15th, from 2017, when the current government took office, to this year, the number of people caught violating the Military Secrets Act over five years was 16 in 2017, 10 in 2018, and 18 in 2019. However, the number sharply increased to 24 last year and reached 17 this year alone.

Specifically, by status, civilians accounted for the largest number with 51 over five years, followed by soldiers with 27, and military personnel with 7. The number of soldiers caught was only 4 in 2017 but increased to 7 in 2018, and 8 were caught this year alone.

Civilians included reservists as well. In October, the Ministry of National Defense’s Ordinary Military Court held a sentencing trial for Mr. A, an executive of the defense company Dasan Gigong and a reservist lieutenant colonel, on charges of violating the Military Secrets Protection Act, sentencing him to four years in prison.

There were also cases of leaking secrets to foreign militaries. Professor B of the Korea Military Academy was caught handing over military secret research project results to foreign intelligence agents. Grade 4 military personnel C also passed military secrets to foreign military intelligence agents dispatched domestically.

The Military Security Support Command detected 34 cases of espionage suspicions and referred them to intelligence agencies since 2017. Most involved communication with North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives or suspects disguised as defectors affiliated with North Korea’s southern operations department. The Military Security Support Command referred one case to the National Intelligence Service and 33 cases to the police. However, none of the referred cases have been closed by investigations yet.

A military official said, “Currently, the Military Security Support Command only investigates cases clearly related to the military, so if statistics from intelligence agencies’ investigations are combined, the numbers would be higher,” adding, “The military should strengthen punishments even for leaks of military secrets within the military.”

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