A North Korean defector has been handed a suspended prison sentence for providing information about a South Korean Air Force radar base on Jeju Island to North Korean authorities.
On Thursday, the Jeju District Court’s Second Criminal Division, led by Judge Lim Jae-nam, sentenced the defendant, identified only as A, to three years in prison, suspended for five years, for violating the National Security Act. The charges included espionage and unauthorized communication with North Korea.
The court also imposed a three-year suspension of certain civil rights.
Prosecutors alleged that in August 2017, A transmitted intelligence about a radar facility located at Moseulbong Peak in Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo City, Jeju Island, following orders from a North Korean Security Ministry official known as B.
A reportedly sent photographs and video footage of the base and its auxiliary structures to B on two separate occasions. The intelligence included details such as that there are no checkpoints, allowing vehicles unrestricted access, and no visible military observation posts, and that the radar base perimeter is secured by 3-meter (about 9.8 feet) high barbed wire fencing, with an estimated 6-minute drive time from the entrance to the summit at roughly 20 km/h (about 12.4 mph).
Investigators also uncovered evidence suggesting A intended to monitor and report on the activities of four other North Korean defectors residing in South Korea.
The defendant admitted to all charges.
In its ruling, the court stated that the defendant’s actions in transferring military secrets to North Korea pose a grave threat to national security and sovereignty. However, in determining the sentence, it took into account that no actual threat materialized, the defendant’s motivations stemmed from concerns over family members still in North Korea, there was no active support for the North Korean regime, and the defendant’s cooperation with authorities following a voluntary confession.