Two charged in South Korea for alleged leak of submarine secrets

Two people are being charged in South Korea in connection with the unauthorised transfer of classified information about the country’s submarines to contacts from overseas.

The accused, both former employees of local shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (now Hanwha Ocean), are being charged with violating the Foreign Act and the Trade Secret Protection Act for allegedly supplying Taiwan with details about the South Korean-built DSME 1400 diesel-electric submarines, otherwise known as the Jang Bogo-class.

Local officials told the Financial Times that the two individuals are being investigated for supplying dozens of pages of blueprints to Taiwanese state-owned shipbuilder CSBC Corporation.

The accused had also established a consulting firm with the aim of supporting South Korea’s indigenous submarine construction program. This same firm was fined by a local court in 2023 for the transfer of military-grade equipment to CSBC despite not having been cleared to do so by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

A DAPA official clarified that the agency’s approval must first be secured before local firms can export defence technologies and related products to foreign counterparts.

Although Taiwan has its own submarine construction program, the country’s first indigenously-built submarine was launched only in late September 2023 and is not scheduled to enter service until 2025.

Some officials have expressed concern about the unauthorised transfer of confidential information pertaining to the submarines, as Seoul has no formal diplomatic relations with Taipei and the incident might lead to additional friction with mainland China.