A North Korean IT worker has been caught hiding their true identity and securing employment at a domestic private company, prompting an ongoing police investigation. It has been reported that the individual even performed actual software development tasks after being hired.
On October 22, the National Office of Investigation under the Korean National Police Agency stated in response to an inquiry from Representative Kim Dae-shik’s office of the People Power Party that they had independently detected and launched an investigation into one case involving suspected disguised employment by a North Korean IT worker last year.
The individual in question was reportedly hired by a domestic private company to carry out development work. This marks the first known case of a North Korean IT worker successfully infiltrating a South Korean corporation through disguised employment. Due to the nature of the IT industry where hiring often takes place through online platforms, detection is understood to have been exceptionally difficult.
Police are currently tracking the scale and payment methods of the funds disbursed to the individual, while also investigating potential links to North Korean organizations.
Previously, South Korea alongside 10 other countries issued a joint security alert, warning that North Korea is utilizing IT workers stationed abroad to generate foreign currency remotely. Furthermore, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on the 13th (local time) that it had exposed a North Korean IT worker who worked remotely for U.S. companies using laptops set up by local U.S. accomplices. U.S. authorities estimate that the vast majority of the multimillion-dollar earnings flowed directly into North Korea-linked entities.
Representative Kim urged, “The police must thoroughly investigate whether North Korean organizations were involved, and the government must strengthen security systems to prevent similar infiltrations.”
