S. Korea to toughen punishment for defense tech leaks overseas

SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) -- The government will push to toughen the punishment for leaking defense technologies overseas, the arms procurement agency said Wednesday.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration said it plans to propose a law revision to make such leaks a crime publishable with at least one year in prison and a fine of up to 2 billion won (US$1.8 million) simultaneously.

The current law calls for up to 20 years in prison or a fine of up to 2 billion won.

The decision was made during an annual Defense Technology Security Committee session presided over by Defense Minister Suh Wook to discuss plans to protect the country's defense technology.

The meeting, which was held via videoconference due to the coronavirus situation, also looked into the state-run Agency for Defense Development's push to improve its technology protection system.

The research agency has been embroiled in an information leak scandal where some of its former researchers were suspected to have leaked massive data using portable media storage devices.

After the allegations surfaced, the arms procurement agency conducted a monthslong audit of the research institution and said multiple people were found with records of copying work data without permission or violating other security regulations.