S. Korean college lecturer arrested for espionage

SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korean authorities arrested a college lecturer
on charges of spying for North Korea over the last 17 years, prosecution
officials said Friday.
The man, identified only by his last name Lee, stands accused of giving
information on South Korean military operations and key facilities to the
communist North between 1997 and February this year after receiving $50,600 from
a North Korean agent based in India, prosecutors and officials of the National
Intelligence Service (NIS) said.
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, officials said.
He had allegedly collected military information while serving as a communications
officer in 2001 and used his status as a member of the National Unification
Advisory Council to participate in meetings organized by the NIS between 2006 and
2007, they said.
Lee, who teaches at a college in Gyeonggi Province, was also conferred an
honorable decoration from North Korea for his activities during his drip to
Singapore in 2003, they said.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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