S. Korean college lecturer faces imprisonment for espionage

SUWON, South Korea, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean court on Wednesday
sentenced a college lecturer to 10 years in prison for spying for North Korea
over the last 17 years.

Prosecutors indicted the man, identified only by his last name Lee, last October
on charges of providing information on South Korean military operations and key
facilities to the communist North on five occasions after receiving $30,000 from
a North Korean agent based in India.
"The defendant had secretly acted as a spy, handing over military secrets to
North Korean agents for 17 years. As a citizen of the Republic of Korea, he
betrayed his country and threatened national security," the Suwon District Court
said in its ruling.
The court, however, said it lightened the punishment because the defendant later
attempted to extricate himself from North Korean intelligence authorities and
confessed his crime to investigators here.
The court ordered authorities to confiscate 31 million won (US$27,500) from Lee.
The 37-year-old Lee, who was recruited by a North Korean agent in 1992 while
studying at a college in India, visited Pyongyang twice afterwards and became a
communist party member, court officials said.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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