South Korea detains two former Chinese soldiers accused of spying on U.S. forces

South Korean authorities announced the detention of two former Chinese military personnel on espionage charges. The older suspect, a Chinese national in his 60s, allegedly installed a software-defined radio receiver, antenna and laptop in a hotel close to a base shared by South Korean and U.S. air forces in southern South Korea, using the equipment to intercept communications between fighter jets and ground controllers on multiple occasions since 2024.

The younger suspect, a Chinese man in his 40s, is accused of illegally gathering information on U.S. military drills, weapon movements and senior officer changes at the U.S. headquarters near Seoul, reportedly receiving the data from a South Korean woman employed at the command in exchange for money and possibly a romantic relationship. Both men, who previously served in the Chinese military, were arrested on violations of laws protecting military secrets and aiding an enemy.

Police are conducting a forensic analysis of the older suspect’s laptop to determine whether any intercepted data was passed to Chinese authorities. The arrests occurred a day before the start of large-scale joint annual exercises between South Korea and the United States, which host about 28,500 U.S. troops.