S. Korea arrests two for spying for US defense contractor

NorthropGrumman

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
The government of South Korea announced the arrest on Tuesday of two former South Korean army colonels for allegedly leaking defense secrets to US defense contractor giant Northrop Grumman. South Korean authorities identified the individuals simply as “Hwang” and “Ryu”, and said they both worked for the Security Management Institute, a Seoul-based intelligence think-tank with strong connections to South Korea’s armed forces. Details are still sketchy, but it appears the two former army colonels used their military contacts to gain access to classified information on hardware purchase plans and operations of South Korea’s navy and coast guard. They then allegedly passed on this information to employees of Northrop Grumman, the world’s largest builder of military vessels and fourth largest defense contractor in 2008. Intelligence observers are trying to find out whether the Tuesday arrests are in any way related to the October 18 arrest of a former South Korean air force major general, identified only as “Kim”, who was accused by South Korean authorities of leaking classified military information to Swedish defense and aviation company Saab. Following Kim’s arrest, South Korean security agents raided Saab’s Seoul offices, as well as the offices of the Security Management Institute, where “Hwang” and “Ryu” reportedly worked. This clue might point to a crucial connection between the three arrests.