PANews reported on December 30th that, according to DL News citing South Korean media Dailian, the South Korean Supreme Court upheld a four-year prison sentence for an employee of a cryptocurrency exchange who assisted North Korean hackers in recruiting a South Korean army captain in an attempt to exchange Bitcoin for military secrets. The exchange employee received $487,000 worth of Bitcoin from the North Korean hackers and paid the captain $33,500 worth of Bitcoin as payment.

The court found the employee guilty of violating the National Security Act, and that his actions could endanger national security. The captain involved had previously been sentenced to ten years in prison and fined for violating the Military Secrets Protection Act. The investigation revealed that North Korean hackers instructed the employee to provide the captain with a "watch-shaped hidden camera" and a USB hacking device for implanting into a military laptop, attempting to remotely access the ROK-US joint command and control system, but the attempt failed. The captain had previously been sentenced to ten years in prison and fined for violating the Military Secrets Protection Act.