"Former Defense Minister on Trial Hired by Key Military Tech Firm"… The Story of the Hanwha Aerospace-Suh Wook Controversy

Washington D.C. 2025.09.06

By Alfred J Kim

Hanwha Aerospace's sudden hiring of former Minister of National Defense Suh Wook as a 'president-level full-time advisor' on June 19 has stirred up the defense industry. The former minister is currently a defendant on trial for charges related to the deletion of military information and the creation of false official documents in connection with the shooting of a public official at sea. Why would a company that directly exchanges technology with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) appoint someone who could be classified as a 'quasi-risk for industrial espionage' as a high-level advisor? This report summarizes the content related to the security failures, overseas leaks of CCTV footage, and procurement corruption allegations that occurred during the former minister's tenure (2020-2022)."A Company Handling Core ITAR Materials Daily"… Hanwha's Sensitive PositionKF-21 fighter jet F414-400K engine, F-35A maintenance depot, low-Earth orbit (SAR) satellite, long-range UAV.

Through these four programs alone, Hanwha Aerospace exchanges hundreds of ITAR (U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations) design drawings daily with its American partner companies. The 'Technology Control Plan (TCP)' required by the U.S. Department of Defense explicitly states that "individuals under indictment or on trial cannot access controlled materials without exemption from the U.S. State Department (PM/DDTC)."

However, with Suh's appointment, concerns are growing that "this could crack the trust in technology protection within the U.S.-Korea alliance."The hiring of the former minister is the first case in the domestic defense industry of a former defense minister taking such a role, sparking not only revolving door and ethical controversies but also drawing attention to the background, given that it involves appointing a defense minister from a pro-China, anti-U.S. administration as an advisor for lobbying toward the U.S.Why Was Suh Indicted?… Deletion and Fabrication Context in the 'Sea Public Official Shooting' IncidentOn September 22, 2020, Lee Dae-jun, a public official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, was shot and his body incinerated by North Korean forces in the northern waters of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea.

No rescue orders were issued for 5 hours. Immediately after the first emergency meeting at the Blue House, Suh, as minister, is accused of instructing the Joint Chiefs of Staff to "delete related information (MIMS and other military integrated information processing system data) and original audio files." Prosecutorial investigations confirmed that former Minister Suh instructed the deletion of military classified materials related to the shooting incident. The next day, the Ministry of National Defense issued a briefing stating "a high possibility of voluntary defection," but the prosecution specified that false evidence (life jacket, slippers, floating objects) was inserted under Suh's instructions. The trial at the Seoul Central District Court is ongoing, with a continuation hearing held as recently as May 2025.

'Full of Holes in Security'… Up to the Chinese-Made CCTV Real-Time Transmission IncidentThe security failures exposed during Minister Suh's tenure go beyond mere 'holes' to a state of being 'wide open.' In particular, the Chinese-made CCTV real-time transmission incident, revealed by TV Chosun's exclusive report in September 2024, starkly illustrates the vulnerabilities in military security. The military confirmed that CCTV systems, believed to be domestically produced and installed, were actually made with Chinese components, allowing video footage to be transmitted in real-time to Chinese servers. This issue affected approximately 1,300 CCTV units installed over about 10 years since 2014 in frontline units, training grounds, and bases. It was discovered after the Ministry of National Defense, under the Yoon Suk-yeol government, ordered an emergency full audit of products supplied by a specific domestic company in July 2024.

The investigation revealed that the CCTV control program was set to transmit data in real-time to a specific Chinese domain upon internet connection. In response, the military immediately removed all related CCTV units on an emergency basis and fully withdrew the equipment from all Army, Navy, and Air Force units. The Ministry of National Defense is investigating the entire procurement process (whether Chinese components were imported or modified domestically), and no public disclosure has been made regarding actual information leaks to date. The military has assessed that there has been no information leakage "to date," but experts are pointing out the "possibility of leakage over 10 years" and calling for further investigations.

This incident is being evaluated as another example of security failures during former Minister Suh's tenure.Looking at the major security failure cases during Minister Suh's tenure, in the 2019 Samcheok fishing boat incident, a North Korean fishing boat roamed freely in territorial waters and entered Samcheok Port, but coastal radars and CCTV completely missed it, leading to delayed response. In the November 2020 22nd Division defection incident, a barefoot defector crossed the fence with no sensor response, and it took 14 hours to discover them. Then, in the January 2022 re-defection incident, the same individual defected again, but despite being captured five times by CCTV, it was processed as unidentified.

In the 2020 Coastal Phase-2 project, 215 Chinese-made CCTV units were installed, raising concerns about classified information leaks due to malware connected to Chinese servers. Finally, the front and rear CCTV 1,300-unit incident revealed by TV Chosun's exclusive report in September 2024 involved equipment using Chinese components set for real-time transmission to the qqhicloud.cn server, leading to full removal and an ongoing investigation into the procurement process. These successive military security and defense failures expose systemic problems in the military security framework and particularly demonstrate the inappropriateness of Suh as the responsible figure for military security and defense.