South Korea Military Secrets for Crypto Probe Unearths 29 Security Breaches

A South Korean probe into soldiers who reportedly used their military passwords as loan collateral to buy crypto has unveiled 29 further cases of compromised armed forces secrets.

These include the case of a captain who “sent confidential documents” about the “wartime missions of a special forces brigade.”

TVChosun reported the captain sent the data to an individual who sent “48 million won [$35,700] worth of cryptocurrency in return.”

Military Secrets: Compromised for Crypto?

As previously reported, prosecutors think at least three serving soldiers this year handed over “level 3” military passwords and secret documents to loan sharks to invest in crypto or pay off “crypto investment debts.”

Earlier this month, the Ministry of National Defense revealed a court had given a captain a suspended jail sentence and discharged him from the army.

Several other soldiers are suspected of doing likewise. And prosecutors have indicted three “loan sharks,” charging them with accepting military secrets in exchange for illegal cash loans.

The subsequent controversy has led lawmakers to step in. Kang Dae-sik, an MP for the ruling People’s Power Party and a member of the National Assembly Defense Committee, compiled data from the ministry.

This data, Kang’s office said on October 6, shows that acting soldiers have leaked secrets on 29 separate occasions since 2021.

The ministry reported six cases in 2021, eight in both 2022 and 2023, and seven cases through to July 2024.

One of the cases in 2021 also saw a captain exchange military secrets for money. In another instance, a captain took photos of a Korean Joint Command and Control System terminal with his cellphone.

He then sent these images to an unnamed recipient using the Telegram chat app.

The data also includes instances of senior soldiers selling data to private defense companies for cash. In another instance, a soldier sold copies of a top-secret military manual.

Some of the cases were caused by a “lax attitude” to security. In one case, a soldier reportedly sent videos of secret military equipment to his girlfriend via the KakaoTalk app.

The officer said he had only wanted to “show his girlfriend what his daily life was like in the army.”