A South Korean investigation into soldiers using military codes as collateral for loans to buy cryptocurrency has uncovered 29 more cases of leaking armed forces secrets. These include a captain "sending confidential documents" about "special forces wartime missions." The captain sent the data to an individual who sent "48 million won ($35,700) worth of cryptocurrency in return."
As previously reported, South Korean prosecutors believe that at least three active-duty soldiers handed "level 3" military codes and secret documents to loan sharks this year to invest in cryptocurrency or repay "crypto investment debts."
Earlier this month, the South Korean Ministry of Defense revealed that a court sentenced a captain to probation and expelled him from the military.
Several other soldiers are suspected of the same behavior. Prosecutors have indicted three "loan sharks" for accepting military secrets to provide illegal cash loans.
The ensuing controversy led lawmakers to intervene. Kang Dae-sik, a member of the ruling People's Power Party and a member of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, collated the Ministry of Defense data. His office said recently that these data showed that agent soldiers had leaked secrets on 29 different occasions since 2021. Six cases were reported in 2021, eight in 2022 and 2023, and seven by July 2024. (TVChosun)