TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Premier Chen Chien-ren (陳建仁) confirmed on Friday (Oct. 6) that a criminal investigation is underway, following reports that a Kuomintang (KMT) legislator leaked highly classified information to foreign agents related to Taiwan's Hai Kun submarine program.
Speaking before the Legislative Yuan, Chen said the Ministry of Justice is proceeding with a case involving the leak of state secrets, reported LTN. Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) and Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said their ministries are gathering evidence.
KMT Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) was recently implicated in the leaking of military secrets, allegedly to gain favor with the Chinese Communist Party. Media reports have connected the leak of this information with the arrest of six foreign engineers by the government of South Korea.
According to reports, Ma is likely to be charged with violating Article 109 of Taiwan's criminal code. The code states that disclosing sensitive material related to national security to foreign agents will result in a prison sentence of three to 10 years.
On Sept. 28, the day the Hai Kun sub was publically unveiled, the head of Taiwan's submarine development program, Naval Officer Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光) said that a legislator may have been responsible for leaking classified material on the program to foreign agents. The same day, a former naval captain and advisor to the navy named Kuo Hsi (郭璽) directly identified Ma as the legislator under suspicion on a podcast.
Kuo accused Ma of trying to scuttle Taiwan's submarine program and said that she had "betrayed the nation" in an attempt to curry favor with the Chinese Communist Party. Kuo also named the former Chief of the General Staff Lee Hsi-min (李喜明) as a member of a group of former naval officers who "sold out Taiwan."
Ma has fervently denied Kou's accusations. Lee said he sees himself as an innocent bystander in the affair.
Political commentator Lee Zheng-hao (李正皓) on Thursday (Oct. 5) said that he had reviewed some of the material leaked to South Korean engineers, allegedly by Ma, and later obtained by South Korea's intelligence services. He identified two audio recordings of Kuo Hsi speaking to foreign engineers about the program, reported LTN.
After reviewing the material, Lee urged to Ma Wen-chun to abandon her ongoing re-election campaign for a seat in the Legislative Yuan representing Nantou County, which she has held since 2009. Ma will need to focus her efforts on her own criminal trial moving forward, he said.
Ma Wen-chun at the Legislative Yuan, Oct. 6. (CNA photo)
In addition to accusations of Ma's illegal activity, Kuo's dealings with the foreign engineers may also be under investigation by the Ministry of Justice, and of interest to the South Korean government.
Defense Minister Chiu said on Oct. 6 that Kuo began working as an advisor on the submarine development program in 2017. Chiu said Kuo was thought to have overstepped in his position and was removed as an advisor after a year, per LTN.
The South Korean government also has an interest in the leak of classified materials. On Oct. 4, Ma Wen-chun's office said she would cooperate with any request by the Korean Mission in Taipei for information she has related to the submarine program, per LTN.
South Korean media outlet, the Chosun Ilbo, reported in summer 2022 that several engineers working for the company formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (current name, Hanhwa Ocean) were arrested for sharing classified material on submarine development. The arrests occurred after they were contracted by the Taiwan International Shipbuilding Corporation to work on Taiwan's indigenous submarine development program.
