Recent revelations of corruption at all levels and all services of the military now include Defense Security Command workers who leaked classified documents to an arms dealer.

The incidents were discovered during the government’s investigation of corruption in the defense industry following the arrest of Ilgwang Group chairman Lee Kyu-tae in March for allegedly pocketing 50 billion won in an Air Force arms deal worth 130 billion won in 2009.

A 56-year-old DSC employee was arrested on May 10, charged with handing over 141 documents, including military secrets, to Lee between November 2006 and December last year. In exchange for the leaked documents, the civilian worker received 10 million won over 20 separate occasions in 2008.

The leaked materials included top secrets about the Army, Navy and Air Force operations. Other secrets included personnel information on top military officials, arms purchase plans and internal reports by the Defense Ministry and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

The investigators traced the leaks to the DSC employee after they discovered a container on a mountainside in Seoul containing hundreds of classified military documents during a probe into corruption by Lee.

Earlier on May 6, the joint investigation team arrested a 59-year-old DSC employee on suspicion of providing DAPA’s internal information and details of various weapons acquisition programs to Lee starting in 2010.

The government’s joint investigation team said it would expand its probe into the DSC, suspecting that there may be more employees involved in leaking classified documents. The joint investigation team said it would also look into Lee’s other connections with the military.

Military scandals and corruption greatly damage the morale of the country’s men and women in uniform, who put their lives at risk to protect the country. It is appalling that DSC employees who are charged with ensuring military security may have leaked classified information to an arms dealer in exchange for money. One shudders to think what might have happened if the DSC personnel had been approached by foreign operatives offering money in exchange for secret information, or if the documents leaked to Lee somehow made their way to North Korean agents.

The DSC employees found guilty of leaking documents and information should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. The joint investigation team should also conduct a thorough investigation into Lee’s corruption, rooting out those who betray the country by taking bribes from arms dealers.