Overview
- South Korean police announced on Tuesday that they arrested two men they say are retired People's Liberation Army officers on charges including benefiting the enemy and violating laws that protect communications and military bases.
- Police say one suspect used a software‑defined radio, an antenna and a laptop while staying at a hotel near a joint U.S.-ROK air base to intercept communications between fighter jets and air traffic control several times since 2024.
- Investigators allege the second suspect recruited and paid a South Korean employee at Camp Humphreys to obtain classified material and photos about U.S.-South Korea drills and weapons movements, activity they say ran from late 2021 until May.
- Authorities have seized equipment and are conducting forensic examinations of laptops and other devices to determine what was collected, whether the material was transmitted abroad, and whether others were involved.
- The suspects face steep penalties under South Korean law and the arrests raise operational security questions for upcoming large U.S.-ROK exercises while investigators work to establish any links to Chinese state actors.