South Korean government’s recent investigation statistics show that there are about 30,000 counterfeit Chinese surveillance devices in national security and public institutions, including the military, police, and ports. Additionally, South Korean diplomatic missions abroad have found that around 30% of the surveillance cameras they use are products from China. Currently, South Korean police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the military are in the process of dismantling these devices.
According to a recent exclusive report by the Chosun Ilbo, South Korea’s National Police Agency established a policy on October 10 to replace 667 vulnerable Chinese-made security cameras in police stations nationwide due to cybersecurity concerns. This decision was made after relevant statistics were made public by members of the National Assembly.
On October 4, data obtained by Democratic Party member Park Jeonghyeon from the National Police Agency and other police institutions showed that at least 760 Chinese-made security cameras were installed in various police organizations, including the National Police Agency, the National Police University, and 18 municipal police departments.
Among them, the Gyeonggi Southern Police Department had the highest number of Chinese-made CCTVs installed, with 117 units. Even the Industrial Technology Security Investigation Office responsible for arresting industrial spies had Chinese-made CCTVs installed. The Gyeonggi Southern Police Department had previously arrested criminals who leaked semiconductor technology to China.
The Gwangju Police Department’s security investigation team, responsible for investigating spies and acts of treason, also had Chinese-made CCTVs installed.
Park Jeonghyeon mentioned that just the results from the police departments and municipal police stations regarding the installation of Chinese-made CCTVs indicate that there are potentially thousands of such cameras installed. Parliament will support law enforcement agencies in replacing these Chinese-made CCTVs with South Korean products to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities such as hacking and information leaks.
In addition to the police department, data released by Park Choong-kwon revealed that 29,974 counterfeit Chinese CCTV cameras disguised as South Korean products from Dahua Technology were widely installed in various public institutions in South Korea. Important institutions such as the Army, Navy, Air Force, Supreme Court, and courts had 131, 107, and other units installed respectively. Additionally, public housing, roads, railways, airports, and ports each had hundreds of these camera units installed.
Furthermore, important national facilities under the South Korean Ministry of Science and Technology like the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and the Basic Science Research Institute had 202 and 309 units respectively. A total of 14,495 cameras were installed in 79 local government agencies in South Korea.
Park Choong-kwon emphasized that counterfeit Chinese surveillance equipment disguised as South Korean products is extensively deployed in major national institutions, schools, hospitals, kindergartens, etc., and a thorough inspection is needed to prevent potential hacker invasions.
Documents disclosed by Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, on October 13 revealed that out of 6,260 CCTV cameras installed in 167 South Korean diplomatic missions abroad, 1,743 were Chinese-made, accounting for 27.8% of the total.
The highest proportion of Chinese-made CCTVs was found in Europe, where out of 1,456 cameras in 48 South Korean diplomatic missions, 533 were Chinese products, representing 36.6% of the total.
South Korean missions in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East also used Chinese products in their CCTV systems proportionally ranging from 21% to 30%. However, the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Seoul did not use Chinese products.
The Foreign Ministry stated in its submitted documents that CCTV systems installed in overseas missions have security measures in place to prevent hacking by isolating them from external networks. It is gradually replacing Chinese products based on usage time and local conditions.
As early as 2022, Yun Jaeok, then a member of the National Assembly’s National Power Party, disclosed data from the Foreign Ministry showing that out of 5,339 CCTV cameras installed in 94 South Korean diplomatic missions abroad, 2,169 were Chinese-made, accounting for 40% of the total.
Upon learning about these issues, some significant South Korean institutions promptly took action. For instance, the Incheon International Airport Corporation and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute replaced Chinese products with South Korean ones after receiving reports from the National Intelligence Service last year.
With the exposure of the fact that 79 local government agencies installed 14,495 counterfeit Chinese CCTVs disguised as South Korean products, the South Korean Ministry of Administration and Security decided to launch a comprehensive investigation this month to determine the extent of counterfeit Chinese products.
In mid-September of this year, the South Korean military discovered that over 1,300 CCTVs installed in front-line units were not domestically produced but were Chinese products. Steps are being taken to dismantle and replace them with South Korean-made products.
A military official stated that the dismantled CCTV systems were designed to connect to specific servers in China, posing risks of leaked footage from the monitoring cameras.
The South Korean military had previously found malicious codes connected to Chinese servers in Chinese-made CCTVs. In November 2020, malignant codes linked to Chinese servers were discovered in CCTV systems installed in border areas by the military, marking the first instance of such malicious software in military surveillance equipment.
At a press conference, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the National Defense Committee and National Power Party, stated that out of 215 Chinese-made CCTVs provided to the Army, all were found to be embedded with malicious codes connected to Chinese servers. This indicated an attempt by a Chinese company to implant malicious software for stealing military secrets and deliver it to the military. The CCTV systems installed in forward areas are not yet operational, which means no video data has been transmitted to China.
Ha Tae-kyung received a report titled “Vulnerability Check Result of Sea and Riverbank Warning Systems” from the South Korean Ministry of National Defense, revealing that the malware code used backdoor access to connect to websites disseminating other malicious codes.
He urged for an urgent and comprehensive inspection of all monitoring equipment currently in use.
Kim Taewoo, former director of the Korea Institute for National Unification and professor at Kyeongyang University’s Department of Military Studies, expressed to Dajiyuan on October 14 that the widespread concerns over China’s exported surveillance equipment for intelligence theft are regrettable and concerning. Under these circumstances, it is nonsensical and regrettable that major South Korean institutions like the military, police, and Foreign Ministry continue to use Chinese products.
He emphasized, “China should address and explain this matter like a major nation, while South Korea should replace all Chinese surveillance equipment.”