A list containing the names and identities of numerous South Korean undercover agents has been leaked to a suspected North Korean operative, sparking intense criticism over the apparent violation of discipline within Seoul’s military intelligence agency.
The incident has reportedly forced some agents to return home hastily, fearing for their lives and abandoning overseas intelligence networks that took years to establish.
The breach was discovered accidentally when South Korean hackers detected the file on the computer of a Chinese national of Korean descent, who is believed to be an informant for North Korea’s intelligence agency.
South Korean authorities later traced the source of the leak back to the notebook computer of a civilian official within the Korea Defence Intelligence Command (KDIC).
The unnamed official was referred to military prosecution authorities on charges of espionage, the defence ministry said on Thursday.
The individual was arrested last week, accused of passing on the personal information of undercover military agents, known locally as “black agents”, to the same Chinese national of Korean descent.
Yang Uk, a senior researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said KDIC served as South Korea’s military intelligence agency while the National Intelligence Service (NIS) played roles akin to those of the CIA in the United States.
“This breach signifies the collapse of one of the two pillars of the country’s human intelligence [HUMINT] capabilities,” Yang told This Week in Asia.
HUMINT refers to intelligence gathering through human agents rather than electronic methods such as wiretapping.
“It could take South Korea many years to rebuild KDIC’s overseas intelligence networks,” Yang added.
Defence Minister Shin Won-sik on Thursday apologised but sought to downplay the breach.
“There has been no serious disruption in intelligence activities and most of the KDIC’s operations have returned to normal,” he told the National Assembly.
“Measures were immediately taken to protect the safety of exposed personnel and operational gaps were quickly filled.”
The incident occurred amid a deepening rift within the KDIC leadership, involving a bitter dispute between the top commander, a major general, and a brigadier general, who have filed lawsuits against each other over allegations of power abuse and violence.
“We will implement comprehensive measures to reform the KDIC,” Shin said.
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‘It’s the tensest city’: South Koreans on border with North fear conflict
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Yang said he was “dumbfounded” that information of such sensitive nature could have been leaked. “The leak endangers the lives of South Korean undercover agents whose identities have been compromised. It also risks severing ties with many overseas informants, who may now refuse to cooperate with South Koreans,” he said.
Moon Seong-mook, a senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said the episode also showed the apparent widespread presence of “moles” in the country.
“The government should step up efforts to ferret out moles and rebuild anti-espionage systems that have largely weakened over the past decade or so,” he said.
This is not the first time the KDIC has been hit by a scandal of such magnitude.
In 2018, a senior officer was arrested for selling the details of black agents to China and Japan, receiving 1 million won (US$727) per agent, according to the Chosun Daily.
In 2022, an army lieutenant was caught handing over military secrets about the “decapitation operation”, a strategy aimed at eliminating North Korea’s leadership in the event of war, to a North Korean agent in exchange for 48 million won.
An Indonesian engineer was apprehended in January for attempting to leak technology related to South Korea’s KF-21 fighter jet currently under development, the Chosun Daily reported.
The Dong-A Ilbo daily, in an editorial on Wednesday, described the incident as causing “devastating” losses to South Korea’s intelligence-gathering capabilities.
It noted that KDIC agents operate in North Korea, China, Russia, and conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Rebuilding the compromised intelligence network will require substantial time and resources,” the editorial said.
“However, it is doubtful whether the KDIC can overcome the current crisis given its fractured chain of command.”
