hankyoreh

By Noh Hyun-woong　

Former Air Force Chief of Staff Kim Sang-tae, 81, was indicted without detention on charges of violating the Military Secret Protection Act by leaking confidential military information on a South Korean Air Force reinforcement effort to leading U.S. security company Lockheed Martin. The First Public Security Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office announced the indictment Wednesday.

Prosecutors also handed down indictments without detention on the same charges against two other individuals, a 62-year-old Air Force reserve colonel named Lee and a 60-year-old Air Force reserve senior master sergeant named Song, who are respectively vice president and director of a technology company established by Kim identified as “S.”

According to prosecutors, Kim is suspected of delivering Class 2 and 3 military secrets on a total of twelve occasions to Lockheed Martin, which had a trade agency contract with “S” between 2003 and 2010. The documents included a joint military strategy and goal plan and mid-term national defense plans. Prosecutors determined that payments totaling 2.5 billion won ($2.4 million) received by “S” from Lockheed Martin for “transaction expenses” in 2009 and 2010 were compensation for this disclosure of military secrets.

Among the confidential military information allegedly delivered were details about the anticipated quantities and allocated budget for joint air-to-surface standoff missiles (JASSMs), the introduction of which is being pushed by the South Korean military for precision strikes on strategic targets in North Korea. Other allegedly leaked information included the places where the equipped fighter planes would be positioned. The investigation further determined that information was provided about the quantities and schedule for introduction of nighttime target identification devices, the so-called “eyes of the fighter plane,” as well as multipurpose precision guided cluster munitions and mid-range GPS guidance kits.

Prosecutors are speculating that the military secrets transmitted were used in the drafting of Lockheed Martin project proposals. Indeed, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration selected Lockheed Martin last year as a priority provider for the introduction of nighttime target identification devices as decided on last year.

In particular, prosecutors believe that following its establishment in 1995 after Kim’s discharge as an Air Force general, “S” has been functioning as a “liaison office” for the extraction and delivery of confidential military information.

A trade brokering business consisting of three to four executives formerly with the Air Force along with two to three ordinary clerical employees, “S” was found to have provided military secrets in meeting record format at domestic marketing conferences and international air show venues following the establishment of trade representation contracts with defense companies.

The employees were also found to have transmitted military secrets to Lockheed Martin via email. Prosecutors believe Kim, a one-time Air Force Chief of Staff, detected and collected such confidential information primarily through his connections from the Air Force Academy.

But Kim and the others accused are denying the charges, arguing that information gathered through sources such as the Internet cannot be viewed as military secrets. Prosecutors also plan to continue with an investigation to locate the military officials who leaked confidential military information to them.

Kim, who is a former chairman of the Korea Retired Generals and Admirals Association, an organization of veteran military generals, graduated from the second class at the Air Force Academy. He held important positions in the Air Force, including head of the 1st Fighter Wing and Air Force operations commander, finally serving as Air Force Chief of Staff from 1982 to 1984 before his discharge.

The leaking of confidential information by senior military figures has been a major issue over the years. In 2009, prosecutors arrested and indicted three people, including a 57-year-old Air Force reserve major general named Kim, on charges of violating the Military Secret Protection Act. A 58-year-old Security Management Institute researcher named Lee was indicted without detention on the same charges. These individuals were also charged with photographing Class 2 and 3 military secrets with cell phone cameras and other devices and leaking them after establishing consulting contracts with foreign defense companies. They were found guilty in their first trial, and are currently in their appeals trial.

Another instance of a Minister of National Defense leaking military secrets also took place during a past administration. During the Kim Young-sam administration, which was pushing the “Baekdu project” to introduce reconnaissance aircraft for communications interception, an abuse of authority scandal erupted when it was alleged that then Defense Minister Lee Yang-ho leaked information while exchanging love letters with a Korean-American woman named Linda Kim who was then president of a weapons brokering company. Kim was indicted without detention on charges including the extraction of military secrets from a field grade military officer, but prosecutors concluded the investigation without a clean resolution of the allegations regarding the leaking of military secrets by Lee and other core government figures.

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