Recent investigations in South Korea found serious problems in the military-related to secrets and cryptocurrency exchanges. One surprising case involved a captain who shared sensitive information marked as a ‘wartime mission’ from a special forces unit in return for 48 million won, which is about $35,700 in cryptocurrency.
This represents one of the biggest traders in the scandal, which has been rumbling in the military realm since its emergence.
Researchers then discovered that at least three soldiers used military passwords and documents for lending and obtaining cryptocurrency or covering debts. Like other alleged captains, the culprit was given a suspended jail term and dismissed from duty.
More incidences of soldiers transferring ‘level 3’ military access codes to loans with ties to such organizations have emerged, making it worse. The loan sharks engaged were charged with receiving the secret documents in exchange for prohibited loans. Since then, prosecutors have widened their probe to other soldiers and civilians who engage in this unlawful trade of sensitive military data.
More Cases Emerge With Investigation
Parliaments have intervened with Kang Dae-sik of the National Assembly Defense Committee producing circulation data obtained from the Ministry of National Defense totalling 29 of these penetrations since 2021. These comprised eight in both cyclical years of 2022 and 2023, and seven more up to July 2024. One early case was a soldier who leaked pictures of a classified military system via Telegram.
The investigations have given critics a means to focus on the lack of security in the South Korean military defense forces. In one case, a soldier shared a video of the military troupes via a free messaging app with his girlfriend. As more cases surfaced, South Korea is struggling to regain its defense credibility, military officials vowed to tighten measure
