South Korean media: Several South Korean military officers used military secrets as collateral to borrow high-interest loans to buy cryptocurrencies

According to South Korean media reports, several South Korean military officers may have used top-secret military codes as collateral when borrowing money from loan sharks to buy cryptocurrencies. In June, an unnamed officer was sentenced to probation, the South Korean Ministry of Defense said, adding that he was officially discharged from the military on September 19. A spokesman said that officials of the Defense Counterintelligence Command "became aware of the crime committed by an active-duty captain at the beginning of this year" and indicted him in a military court in March for violating the Military Secrets Protection Act. The ship officer was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, suspended for four years. The intelligence department is further investigating the situation in which "active officers" of a unit in the Chungcheong area used codes to obtain loans to "trade or invest in cryptocurrencies." Local police and prosecutors confirmed that they have also launched an investigation, but said they could not "disclose specific facts about the case." The media said that there are allegations that "most of the soldiers involved in the incident are officers in their 20s and 30s. They are eager to borrow money to trade or invest in cryptocurrencies." (Cryptonews)