On the 14th, the Jeju District Court Criminal Division 2 (Chief Judge Lim Jae-nam) sentenced Ms. A (female in her 50s), who was indicted without detention on charges of violating the National Security Act (espionage), to three years in prison, three years of suspension, and five years of probation.
According to the indictment, Mr. A is known to have crossed the North Korean border in August 2011, defected to Korea in October, and settled in Jeju in March 2012. It was discovered that the first contact was made with the North Korean Security Agency in March 2015.
In August 2017, Mr. A received instructions from Mr. B, a high-ranking official of the National Security Agency at the time, to go to the radar base in Moseulpo, Seogwipo-si and detect and collect military secrets, including ▲ radar equipment specifications ▲ distance from the checkpoint to the peak ▲ unit status, etc.
It was found that Mr. A went to the radar base in a car with an acquaintance and took pictures of the base area with his cell phone and transmitted them.
In May 2017, he received instructions such as ‘A U.S. aircraft carrier is coming in. Please tell me where the anchorage point is’ and ‘Find out the operation radius and performance of the unmanned aerial vehicle’, and he responded that he did not know.
In addition, I received instructions to ‘check with my own eyes as the accuracy of runway information at the US military base in Osan is low.’
In addition, it was revealed that he communicated several times with high-ranking North Korean officials after receiving instructions such as ‘Get acquainted with a certain North Korean defector since he lives with a South Korean military officer’ and ‘Check out the North Korean defector’s ideology.’
The prosecution requested four years in prison for Mr. A at the final hearing of this case held last September.
Mr. A admitted all the facts of the indictment.
Mr. A’s lawyer argued, “There are extenuating circumstances that led him to commit the crime out of concern for the safety of his family in North Korea.” He appealed for leniency, citing the fact that he confessed to the crime and the fact that he had not committed a crime in South Korea after defecting from North Korea.
The court ruled, “The defendant (Mr. A) is deeply guilty of having communicated with high-ranking North Korean officials several times, received orders, and passed on military information to North Korea, infringing on the nation’s existence and security.” However, it also ruled, “It is difficult to say that national security has been greatly shaken by the defendant’s crime.”
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The punishment was determined based on the provision of the same law that provides for exemption or reduction of punishment when a person who violates the National Security Act surrenders himself.
“” He explained the reasons for sentencing.
https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20251113_0003401209