Case of alleged South Korean spy in Russia ‘won’t be settled soon’ amid decaying Moscow-Seoul ties

Baek Kwang-soon was arrested for allegedly passing classified information, including ‘top secret’ materials, to unspecified foreign intelligence services
The rare arrest came as relations between Seoul and Moscow have deteriorated since the Ukraine war, while ties between Moscow and Pyongyang have grown closer

South Korea

Park Chan-kyong

Published: 3:08pm, 13 Mar 2024

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Russia’s arrest of a South Korean citizen accused of spying, identified as a Christian missionary helping North Koreans, has been viewed as a sign Moscow will “get tough” with Seoul as diplomatic relations between both continue to plunge.

TASS on Monday reported that Baek Won-soon, later corrected as Baek Kwang-soon, was arrested in Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East earlier this year, and was the first South Korean to be jailed on espionage charges in the country.

Baek, 53, allegedly passed classified information, including “top secret” materials, to unspecified foreign intelligence services, it said.

“We were all flabbergasted at the news of his arrest as he is an innocent missionary deeply committed to spreading God’s love to the world,” a pastor at Rice of Love, a Christian charity, told This Week in Asia.

South Korean detained in Russia, accused of espionage in ‘top secret’ case

The pastor, head of the group’s philanthropic body, who identified himself only as “Centurion”, said Baek was aiding North Korean workers as well as other displaced foreigners in dire conditions.

The charity collects donated food, medicine and clothing and sends them to missionaries such as Baek who work in the group’s 69 overseas branches in countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

“We hope the South Korean government will do its best to bring him home at the earliest possible date,” he said.

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said the missionary had been engaged in rescuing North Korean defectors, providing humanitarian aid, and ministering to individuals in Russia’s Far East, which hosts North Korean workers, mostly loggers.

The investigation department of the Federal Security Service of Russia in Moscow. Photo: EPA-EFE

The rare arrest came as relations between Seoul and Moscow have continued to deteriorate, while ties between Moscow and Pyongyang have grown closer.

“I am afraid this issue won’t be settled in the short term as Russia, in a departure from past practices, went public with it,” Wi Sung-lac, former South Korean ambassador to Russia, told This Week in Asia.

Russia has not taken any measures in the past beyond expelling the persons involved.

In 1998, South Korea and Russia reportedly expelled each other’s suspected spies. In 2008, Russia kicked out a South Korean diplomat, and another in 2009.

After Baek’s arrest by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), he was transferred to Moscow in late February for further investigation, according to TASS.

He is currently at the Lefortovo Prison, notorious for its incarceration of high-profile political figures and inmates, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

The Lefortovsky Court on Monday extended his detention for an additional three months until June 15, TASS said.

“The government hopes for our national’s swift and secure reunion with his family, and to facilitate this, we are maintaining necessary communication with the Russian authorities,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk told journalists on Tuesday.

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South Korean national detained in Russia over espionage charges amid fraying Moscow-Seoul ties

A local diplomatic mission has been providing necessary consular assistance since becoming aware of the arrest, the foreign ministry said. It declined to give further details because the incident was still under investigation.

Citing law enforcement agencies, TASS said in a follow-up report on Tuesday that Baek had been posing as a writer and receiving information constituting state secrets through a messaging app.

Baek is the founder of registered Russian company Bely Kamen, which translates to “white stone” in English, operating in the tourism sector and located in Vladivostok, TASS said. According to the Russian criminal code, espionage carries a penalty of 10 years to 20 years’ imprisonment.

This arrest could be a signal that Russia will get tough with other Korean missionaries there in a bid to teach a lesson to the South

Yang Moo-jin, political science professor

Yang Moo-jin, a political-science professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said there had been a lot of missionary activities in Vladivostok, a border area between the North, Russia and China.

“There have always been layers of diplomatic as well as intelligence activities to protect them as they are South Korean nationals,” he said. “This arrest could be a signal that Russia will get tough with other Korean missionaries there in a bid to teach a lesson to the South.”

His arrest was made public by Moscow in this week, after the two countries exchanged criticism in February when Russian foreign ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova labelled South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s description of North Korea as “blatantly biased” and “odious”.

At that time, Yoon said North Korea is the only country in the world to legalise the pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons.

Relations between Seoul and Moscow have been tense since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The investigation department of the Federal Security Service of Russia, Lefortovo pretrial detention facility in Moscow. Photo: EPA-EFE

While adhering to the principle of providing no weapons to a country at war, South Korea joined the international community’s financial sanctions against Russia.

That prompted Moscow to classify the East Asian nation as an “unfriendly” country.

Moscow also reacted furiously to South Korea’s alleged provision of weapons to Ukraine, and when Seoul raised suspicions about military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

Park Won-gon, a political-science professor at Ewha University, said it was extremely rare for a South Korean Christian missionary to be arrested on espionage charges in either China or Russia, although at least three South Korean missionaries had been held in North Korea for “anti-state” activities since 2013.

“There are many more South Korean missionaries active in China, but China does not arrest them on espionage charges as Russia did this time,” he said. “This is really bad news, casting a pall over the bilateral ties between Moscow and Seoul that are already at the low-water mark.”