Military choppers are stationed at Camp Humphreys, a sprawling U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 10. Yonhap
SUWON — Two former Chinese military officers have been arrested for allegedly eavesdropping on communications from fighter jets near a Korean military base and leaking classified material related to Korea-U.S. military exercises, police said Tuesday.
One of the suspects, a Chinese national in his 60s, was arrested on suspicions of benefiting the enemy and violating a law on the protection of communications secrets after allegedly making multiple visits to Korea on a tourist visa and tapping communications between fighter jets and air traffic control towers from a hotel near an airport in the southwestern city of Gunsan, according to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police.
The airport is home to assets belonging to the Korean and U.S. Air Forces.
Police said the man is believed to have retired after serving many years in China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) and that his visits, which began in January 2024, coincided with periods when regular Korea-U.S. Air Force exercises took place.
