SEOUL, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- A South Korean businessman was caught selling personal information to North Korea and trading North Korean computer security software to South Korean firms.

The 46-year-old man, surnamed Kim, faces a trial in violation of the National Security Act and attempted espionage, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.


According to prosecutors, Kim has sold more than 300 computer security programs developed by North Korean IT engineers to South Korean hospitals and companies since 2010.

Kim worked as a contractor who imported agricultural produce from China to South Korea and was introduced to a North Korean software engineer at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, the North's leading academic institution, by one of his Chinese traders.

Kim is accused of causing cybersecurity risks to South Korea and selling North Korean computer security programs, some containing malicious codes that could potentially make domestic computer systems vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Investigators also found out that North Korean engineers remotely connected to South Korean computer systems to fix problems related to their security program.

The man is also accused of selling military secrets to North Korea, as well as personal information of more than 5,000 South Korean citizens to the North.