Growing spy threat

: Rising Chinese espionage exposes gaps in S. Korea's counterintelligence system

Two Chinese nationals were arrested earlier this month for allegedly collecting classified information related to South Korea-US military exercises and intercepting fighter jet communications near an air force base, police said on Aug. 11.

One of the suspects, a Chinese man in his 40s, allegedly recruited a South Korean civilian employee at Camp Humphreys, a major US military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and obtained information on the locations of US command facilities, weapons movements within the base and materials related to the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise. Police believe he used a military-surplus store he operated near the main gate of Camp Humphreys as a cover for his alleged espionage activities.

The other suspect, a Chinese national in his 60s, was caught after setting up surveillance equipment, including a receiver and an antenna, in a hotel room near the military airport in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, and listening in on radio communications between air traffic controllers and pilots. Police say he had repeatedly traveled to South Korea on tourist visas since 2024, eavesdropping on military communications each time the South Korean and US Air Forces held joint exercises.

Both suspects were found to be former members of China's People's Liberation Army, raising suspicions that they may have been involved in an organized espionage operation.

However, they cannot be charged with espionage under the Criminal Act.

The reason is that while the National Assembly passed a revision in February allowing those who detect, collect, leak or transmit military secrets for foreign countries or equivalent organizations to be punished for espionage — not just for an "enemy state," referring to North Korea — the revised law will not take effect until Sept. 13.

Police charged them with aiding the enemy under the Criminal Act and violating the Protection of Military Bases and Installations Act, offenses that carry lighter penalties than espionage.

Suspected Chinese espionage activities targeting military intelligence in South Korea and US Forces Korea have increased in recent years.

Two Chinese high school students who entered South Korea on tourist visas without a tour guide were caught photographing fighter jets taking off from and landing at Suwon Air Base in March 2025.

In June 2024, Chinese students attending a university in Busan were arrested for photographing a US aircraft carrier docked in the city. Authorities found that they had illegally filmed military bases and US aircraft carriers with drones on nine occasions.

In November 2024, a Chinese national was arrested after flying a drone to photograph the National Intelligence Service headquarters.

According to the NIS, more than 10 cases were recorded between 2023 and 2025 in which Chinese nationals were caught secretly photographing key national facilities using drones and other equipment.

The US Senate and House Armed Services Committees directed the Department of Defense to submit a report on the Chinese Communist Party's malign activities in South Korea as part of the report accompanying the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. This can be seen as reflecting the view that China's espionage activities in South Korea pose a threat to US defense interests.

Chinese spies are targeting not only US military intelligence but also South Korea's cutting-edge technology. In particular, South Korea's advanced semiconductor technology is China's most coveted industrial asset.

In April, a former senior manager and a former researcher of Samsung Electronics were sentenced to prison for leaking the company's DRAM manufacturing technology and process information to CXMT, China's No. 1 DRAM maker.

At a time when South Korea needs to strengthen its counterintelligence capabilities, the Lee Jae Myung administration is moving in the opposite direction.

The National Intelligence Service's counterespionage investigative authority was already abolished in 2024 at the initiative of the Democratic Party of Korea, and the Lee administration, citing the alleged "insurrection" involvement as a pretext, split up and dismantled the Defense Counterintelligence Command.

There are concerns about whether fragmented investigative jurisdictions can effectively thwart increasingly sophisticated espionage activities at an early stage.

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