[단독]’Execution warrant’ for stealing submarine-destroying materials… Password leaks are also being punished ‘with a cotton bat’

Submarine ‘Jang Bogo-III’ built by Hanwha Ocean. Provided by Hanwha Ocean

Amidst growing public criticism of the sensitivity of the military’s control over military executives handing out third-level ‘secret passwords’ to private loan sharks as co- on the other hand, it was revealed that most of the similar cases of weapons secrecy have recently received suspended sentences. . It has been pointed out that ‘punishment with a soft bat’ increases military discipline.

● ‘Not guilty’ of stealing military secrets for company profit

On the 25th, Dong-A Ilbo’s reporting team analyzed 15 judgments found in the Supreme Court’s judicial search system and court library among cases in which judgments were made on allegations of violating the Act Defense of Military Secrets from 2019 until the end. month. As a result, only two sentences were imposed. Most of them were suspended sentences (11) and acquittals (2).

Six employees of a defense industry that manufactures and supplies weapons have been found not guilty in a case where they stole secrets related to the use of weapons by the South Korean military for the company’s benefit. The reason for the decision was that “the report was not classified in a way that would cause a national security crisis, and it was not for personal financial reasons because the publish a report within the company only.”

There were also cases where passwords were released but the sentences were not suspended. In February 2022, Mr. A, a civilian and former Army sergeant, called the unit where he worked while drinking with acquaintances, found the secret code, and released out to his friends, but he was given a probation sentence.

The four cases of stealing sensitive information about military weapon technology, including the domestic submarine ‘Jang Bogo-III’, were all dismissed. “The fact that he confessed to the crime and cooperated with the investigation was taken into account”.

A bird’s eye view of a Korean modern destroyer (KDDX). Provided by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries

● Most of the leak offenders are former or current military personnel or employees of defense companies.

Most of those brought to trial on charges of violating the Military Secrets Protection Act were veterans or employees of defense companies.

Of the 15 cases analyzed by the reporting team, in 7 cases the defendants were current and former soldiers, and in 6 cases, the defendants were agents and employees of defense industry companies. In the other two cases, the culprits were former Defense Acquisition Program Administration employees and police officers.

Veterans have stolen information they had while serving or leaked information through acquaintances they knew during their military service.

In 2016, an Intelligence Command officer leaked a classified Level 2 document to the outside world to brag about his military career.

A former naval brigadier working as a university professor stole classified information, including North Korea’s weapons system and unit combat capabilities, from a military expert and used it for personal research.

For defense industry workers, the main reason for the offense was the pressure to outperform competitors.

Nine employees from the special ship division of the domestic defense company B decided to steal information about the Korean next-generation destroyer (KDDX), saying, “It seems that our competitors have obtained the information, but it is not known we still have.” So, some of these employees visited a colonel’s office at Naval Headquarters in 2013, secretly took pictures of documents as the colonel was leaving the office, and posted them on the company’s internal network. All these workers were given a probationary sentence.

At another defense company C, an employee entered the military office under the direction of a company representative and secretly filmed a technical service report with a cell phone.

Experts say that the court’s soft punishment increases lax control, including the leakage of confidential information. Yoo Dong-yeol, head of the Liberal Democratic Institute, said, “Recent military secret leaks, such as the cancer prevention incident, are examples that show problems with arms control. ” we are strengthening the Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s vetting function to ensure that veterans and defense industry workers “We need to prevent leaks of information,” he said.