South Korean court upholds sentence for university professor convicted of espionage
August 28, 2026
by intelNews
SOUTH KOREA’S SUPREME COURT has upheld a five-year prison sentence for a Chinese university professor convicted of espionage, after prosecutors accused him of conspiring with a Chinese intelligence handler to recruit active-duty South Korean soldiers and obtain military secrets, including details on an American-supplied missile defense system.
The convicted agent, identified only as “Qing”, was reportedly spotted and recruited by an espionage cell, referred to as “Ken Jake”, which was led by Chinese Chief Case Officer Liu Nannan whilst completing his PhD in Taiwan. The cell’s primary focus was the collection of high-value secrets from South Korea and Taiwan, through human intelligence (HUMINT) targeting. Investigators stated that the intelligence “Qing” collected included details on the American THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) mobile missile defense system, US-South Korea joint military exercise plans, Taiwan-related activities, and the location of a South Korean Navy vessel.
“Qing” operated between May 2024 and March 2025, using social media to approach and offer cash payments to soldiers. He also employed espionage equipment—including a camera hidden in a wristwatch—to evade face-to-face meetings while transferring stolen material. “Qing” also made several trips to South Korea’s Jeju Island to establish a dead-drop infrastructure for facilitating physical intelligence exchanges. He also met with individuals he believed were recruited military assets. The spy cell recruited Navy Corporal Jung Da-jung and Choi Hong-jae, a military conscript who reportedly received ₩ 7.1 million (about US $5,100) in exchange for providing military intelligence information. “Qing” also allegedly infiltrated anti-China/pro-Taiwan independence groups and attempted to gain close access to an unnamed female Taiwanese politician.
Following an undercover investigation by the South Korean Defense Counterintelligence Command (DCC), Qing was arrested in March 2025 by South Korean authorities while carrying out a dead-drop exchange on Jeju Island. DCC Lead Investigator Bang Tu-Cheol posed as an active-duty military asset and built credibility and trust through feeding fake documents to “Qing”. This eventually led to “Qing” meeting Bang on Jeju Island. The operation uncovered a broader network vulnerability when Chinese intelligence reportedly sent material obtained from Choi to Bang for cross-verification. South Korean investigators identified a technical link to Chinese-language file-sharing infrastructure, which allowed them to connect previously separate espionage cases. This discovery helped expose the wider “Ken Jake” cell.
► Author: Molly Jones | Date: 28 August 2026 | Permalink
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South Korean court upholds sentence for university professor convicted of espionage
August 28, 2026 by intelNews Leave a comment
The convicted agent, identified only as “Qing”, was reportedly spotted and recruited by an espionage cell, referred to as “Ken Jake”, which was led by Chinese Chief Case Officer Liu Nannan whilst completing his PhD in Taiwan. The cell’s primary focus was the collection of high-value secrets from South Korea and Taiwan, through human intelligence (HUMINT) targeting. Investigators stated that the intelligence “Qing” collected included details on the American THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) mobile missile defense system, US-South Korea joint military exercise plans, Taiwan-related activities, and the location of a South Korean Navy vessel.
“Qing” operated between May 2024 and March 2025, using social media to approach and offer cash payments to soldiers. He also employed espionage equipment—including a camera hidden in a wristwatch—to evade face-to-face meetings while transferring stolen material. “Qing” also made several trips to South Korea’s Jeju Island to establish a dead-drop infrastructure for facilitating physical intelligence exchanges. He also met with individuals he believed were recruited military assets. The spy cell recruited Navy Corporal Jung Da-jung and Choi Hong-jae, a military conscript who reportedly received ₩ 7.1 million (about US $5,100) in exchange for providing military intelligence information. “Qing” also allegedly infiltrated anti-China/pro-Taiwan independence groups and attempted to gain close access to an unnamed female Taiwanese politician.
Following an undercover investigation by the South Korean Defense Counterintelligence Command (DCC), Qing was arrested in March 2025 by South Korean authorities while carrying out a dead-drop exchange on Jeju Island. DCC Lead Investigator Bang Tu-Cheol posed as an active-duty military asset and built credibility and trust through feeding fake documents to “Qing”. This eventually led to “Qing” meeting Bang on Jeju Island. The operation uncovered a broader network vulnerability when Chinese intelligence reportedly sent material obtained from Choi to Bang for cross-verification. South Korean investigators identified a technical link to Chinese-language file-sharing infrastructure, which allowed them to connect previously separate espionage cases. This discovery helped expose the wider “Ken Jake” cell.
► Author: Molly Jones | Date: 28 August 2026 | Permalink
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Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with "Ken Jake", China, counterintelligence, Defense Counterintelligence Command (South Korea), espionage, News, South Korea